OREANDA-NEWS. November 08, 2011. Russian Government will allocate in the federal budget as much as RUB 400 billion in the next ten years for the development of shipping industry, Russian Prime Minister said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the plenary session of Russian Conference of Transport Workers in Novosibirsk Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that Russia should build a large merchant fleet, maintain ship repair facilities, restore old routes and blaze new shipping lanes.

"By 2015 we will increase the capacity of Russian ports by as much as 1.5 times. Cargo volume handled at our ports is expected to be increased up to 770 million tons by 2015," Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying.

Putin reminded that a few days ago, the Federation Council had approved a federal law stimulating shipping and shipbuilding industry.

"It (the law) offers significant tax breaks and other incentives in production of vessels at domestic shipyards and for shipping companies operating under the Russian flag," he said.