Bill on Vladivostok free port endorsed by governmental commission

VLADIVOSTOK, June 2. /TASS/. Russian government’s commission in charge of drafting laws has endorsed a bill on a free port in Vladivostok and it will be submitted to the government for scrutiny shortly, the federal Ministry for Development of the Far East said on Tuesday. A proposal to grant the status of a free port with simpler customer formalities to Vladivostok was made by President Vladimir Putin in the annual state-of-the-nation address to Russian parliament in December 2014. The bill suggests that the zone of the free port will embrace thirteen municipalities. The status of residents there may be given to seaports, the airport and the companies working in travel and tourism. Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev said earlier the bill lays the groundwork for upgrading the seaport operations and for making the Primorsky (Maritime) territory a locomotive of growth in the Far East. On Thursday, the bill will be discussed at a government meeting. If it is endorsed, the cabinet of ministers will submit it to the State Duma. Read more