A proposed container terminal

Swift and Russian Railways plan a container terminal in Altai Territory, with investment estimated at RUB 5 billion. Governor Viktor Tomenko’s estimates were published on Jun 8, 2026. The proposed site is in Pervomaisky District, where the partners envisage annual cargo handling of 3.5 million tonnes and approximately 1,000 jobs.

Tomenko expected the project to support regional exports and trade with Asian countries. Swift president Wang Jinyu and Tomenko signed an agreement at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The investment, employment and cargo figures remain project estimates. Swift’s existing shipping network connects China and other Asian countries with Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Its Russian head office is in Moscow, with branches elsewhere in the country.

Russian Railways company emblem
Russian Railways corporate logo

Investor and railway location

WeLink LLC was identified as the terminal’s investor in regional reporting published on Jun 1, 2026. The company was registered in Moscow in July 2018, with activities in railway transport and equipment leasing. It belongs to Swift Transport International Logistics. The proposed terminal would be near Novoaltaysk and Altaiskaya station on the West Siberian Railway.

WeLink’s earlier investment plan placed the RUB 5 billion estimate within a period extending to 2028. Its founders were identified as Chinese company Tianjin Haiteliangjie International Logistics and its head Wang Jinyu in the Jun 1 account. Its named general director was Xue Mei Kerimova.

Altai Territory agricultural plains
Altai Territory countryside

Earlier agricultural trade with China

Altai Territory already shipped substantial agricultural cargo to China before the terminal proposal. In the first quarter of 2025, plant-product shipments totalled 281,000 tonnes, up 16% year on year, according to the Altai branch of the Federal Centre for Safety and Quality Assessment of Agricultural Products. Its Apr 8, 2025 figures included:

  • Grain and pulses: more than 111,000 tonnes, against 84,700 tonnes in the first quarter of 2024;
  • Processed grain products: 23,800 tonnes, against 22,900 tonnes;
  • Feed cargo: 37,800 tonnes, against 16,400 tonnes.

The historical shipment data also identified 78,200 tonnes of buckwheat, 80,000 tonnes of vegetable oils, 37,800 tonnes of oilcake, 6,000 tonnes of flakes and 8,100 tonnes of sunflower kernels. These figures concern regional exports in that reporting period, rather than cargo handled by the planned terminal.

Terminal investor and funding timetable
Investor registration and planned investment period

Trial consignments reported by Apr 8, 2025 included 10 tonnes of medicinal raw materials, 44 tonnes of flax-combing products and 15 tonnes of fern shoots. China remained the leading importer of agricultural products from Altai Territory and other Siberian regions for a second consecutive year.