Encompassing all forms of commercial transportation and communication, the Transport and Communication Industry is a key component in the economic structure of the Khabarovsk Krai. There are two main railway arteries crossing the Krai; the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Baikal- Amur Mainline, both of which connect the eastern and western portions of the country. The continental network and that of the island of Sakhalin are linked by a seagoing ferry in Vanino- Kholmsk.
The total railway length is 2.3 thousand km, with the territorial cargo exchange with all other regions of the country carried out by rail.
To increase the working reliability and traffic capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railway that connects the APR countries with Europe, the reconstruction of the railway bridge via the Amur River is being constructed, an extension of 2617 meters. Additional railway lines and a joint road transport passage are also being constructed. There is also a possibility to attract foreign capital to the construction of an access road to the bridge on the right bank of the river along with the commercial development of the adjacent areas through the building of transport, tourist and hotel services. The total length of the navigable inner waterways in the Krai is 3.2 thousand km (along the Amur, Ussuri, Amgun, Tunguska and Maya rivers) with the navigation period on the Amur River lasting 160-180 days a year.
The advantage of the Amur River basin is the possibility of a direct connection with the Sea of Okhotsk coast, the Sakhalin Island, China and with the seaports of most of the APR countries. Last year the geography of outward voyages of the Russian river seagoing ships was expanded considerably. New routes to Japan, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Pusan and Inchon were developed. There are excellent prospects for increasing the volume of Chinese transit along the rivers of the Sungari, Ussuri and Amur.
The main seaport of the Khabarovsk Krai is the port of Vanino. Every year 3.5 thousand ships, 1 70 thousand railway cars and 10 million tons of cargo are processed at the port, with 500 thousand tons of cargo processed through a complex of large capacity containers. Year round operation of the port is ensured by the ice breaker fleet.
Vanino Port has been transformed into a joint stock company. On this basis, several smaller joint stock companies have been established, including foreign companies, which provide cargo shipments and the bunkering of vessels. There are future prospects for the construction of cargo- handling complexes for metal, coal, aluminum and perishable goods.
Other ports, such as Nikolaevsk-on-Amur, Sovetskaya Gavan, Okhotsk, Lazarevo, De-Kastry and other settlements operate on a regular basis as well.
Air transportation connects Khabarovsk Krai with practically alt the countries of the world. Thus, the Khabarovsk Krai airport is one of the largest air harbors in the Russian Far East, and it can accommodate planes of any type. Scheduled flights to the countries of CIS, the USA, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Singapore and other countries are carried out from there. A new International Terminal operates in the Airport.
The projects of modernization of the Khabarovsk Airport and the construction of a cargo airport in the region of the transport junction between the Port of Vanino and Sovetskaya Gavan are designed. The length of the transport roads used for general purpose within the Krai is about 4.3 thousand km, including 3.2 thousand km of hard-surface roads. Main roads (the roads of federal significance) are the Chita - Khabarovsk, the Khabarovsk - Vladivostock and the Khabarovsk - Komsomolsk-on- Amur with bridge crossing the Amur river near Komsomolsk.
Communication in the Krai is represented by all means, including modern forms of telecommunication. All enterprises of this branch are transformed into joint stock companies. New, alternative means of communication are introduced into the services market through modern equipment and technology. Ra-diotelephone zonal satellite communication is being developed, and in 1995, a fiber optic communication line through Khabarovsk, Nakhodka, Japan, and the Republic of Korea began operation.