UAE-based port operator Gulftainer plans to invest more than $275m, to develop and operate a port near the Russian city of St Petersburg, the company said Sunday. The deal will see the Gulftainer, the Middle East’s largest privately-owned port operator, expand Ust-Luga Port to challenge larger rival St Petersburg, as trade in the Baltic Sea grows. Badr Jafar, vice chairman of Gulftainer, said the port was well-placed to play a key role in driving Russia’s economic growth. “The Baltic Western region will play a vital role, handling as it does around 60 percent of Russian container volumes,” he said in an emailed statement. Gulftainer last September signed a joint venture agreement with Prominvest, the financial and investment arm of the state corporation, Russian Technologies, to pursue investment and management opportunities.The company, Gulftainer Russian Technologies, also said it would establish a $500m fund to acquire port and logistic assets in Russia and the region.Gulftainer is a subsidiary of the Sharjah-based Crescent group of companies and the largest private port and logistics operator in the Middle East.