PRESS: Mercuria complains about Lavna coal terminal to minister

MOSCOW, Oct 18 (PRIME) -- Swiss coal trader Mercuria, a potential investor in a 24 billion ruble Lavna coal terminal in Murmansk, is unhappy with Russia’s State Transport Leasing Company’s (STLC) decision to work with a company of tycoon Andrei Bokarev, Kommersant reported on Thursday quoting Mercuria’s letter to Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh.

Lavna, with a projected annual capacity of 18 million tonnes, is the key project of the Murmansk transport hub. The terminal is to launch its first stage in December 2020 and to reach the projected capacity in a year.

STLC and Mercuria signed a memorandum on joint implementation of the project in 2017, and STLC’s board of directors approved selling 75% in Lavna to Mercuria. The coal trader signed a contract to load the terminal’s capacity with 18 million tonnes of coal in 2018, but is yet to receive a Federal Antimonopoly Service’s approval for the acquisition, for which it filed in June.

As a result of the delay, the Russian government ordered signing of a concession agreement, and Bokarev – an owner of 5% in Lavna – would be to implement it. Kommersant reported that his company Business-Globus filed a request for permission to buy 70% in the terminal to the service on September 6, and the service approved it on September 27.

In its letter to Ditrikh, the Swiss company said that media reports cast a negative light on Mercuria and hurt its reputation as an investor. The company wants to meet with the minister or his representatives to discuss the issue, Kommersant reported.

A representative of the Transport Ministry said that the sale of Lavna had not been discussed yet, but declined to elaborate. Mercuria declined to comment, while a representative of STLC said that the company was unaware about the Swiss trader’s letter or its complaints.

(65.4026 rubles – U.S. $1)

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