OREANDA-NEWS. January 30, 2009. In 2008, the volume of cargo transported by the Volga-Baltic waterways grew by 8.1%, year-on-year, to 18.168.5 million tonnes.

7.2 million tonnes of cargo was carried towards Volga, 11 million tonnes – towards the Baltic Sea including 7 million tonnes of export cargo (in 2007: 6.8 mln, 10 mln and 6.3 mln tonnes respectively).

In 2008, construction materials accounted for 41% of total volume (in 2007 - 40%), oil products - 24% (22%), timber – 10.8% (12%), metal - 6% (7%), fertilizers – 2.5% (4%), other cargoes – 15.7% (15%).

Volgo-Balt (Volga-Baltic waterway) is one of the most significant water routes comprising integrated deep-water system of inland waterways of Russia’s European part. It is a complex of engineering facilities uniting 4900 kilometers of operated waterways.