Costs have more than doubled since plans were out forward in 2016

The Russian government is considering suspending building work on a flagship yachting marina in the Crimean Sevastopol, amid escalating costs, claim some senior state officials.

The idea of building of a world-class yachting marina in the Balaklava Bay of Sevastopol was originally put forward by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in 2016 on the second anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. At that period of time, the cost of the project was estimated at about RUB 3 billion (US$45.4m) , however, since that time it has almost doubled up to RUB 7.8 billion (US$118m).

Currently implementation of the project appears to have particular importance for the Russian government, given that it’s included in the updated existing federal target program for the development of Crimea and Sevastopol until 2022. However, the significant cost increases may seriously delay the whole project.

According to some Russian yachting analysts, the cost of the project is very high for the Crimean regional budget (from which a significant part of funds is expected to be allocated) and will probably require an allocation of funds from the Russian federal budget.

For comparison, the entire budget of the Russian Academy of Sciences – a network of scientific research institutes across the Federation – is estimated at some RUB 4.3 billion (US$65m).

According to the Federal Program, the total area of the newly established yachting marina will be about 13,270 square meters. It will be able to deal with boats and yachts of various classes from 6 to 75 meters, and have a capacity of approximately 600 vessels.

 

 

The new marina will be built by Stroygazmontazh, a Russian engineering holding, controlled by the Russian billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, a close friend of Russia’s President Putin which won a tender for the implementation of the project last year

During the Soviet times the city of Balaklava was a closed military city, being a base for Soviet submarines. Until last year, the FSB border regime operated in the bay, which meant mandatory notification of the Russian Coast Guard by shipowners, leaving the Bay.