 The Volga-Don Shipping Canal no longer meets the present needs of carriers of countries of the Caspian region, and the completion of construction of the Manych Ship Canal would favour further growth of cargo traffic between the Caspian and Azov-Black Sea basins.Economic development of southern Russia requires completion of the canal.Construction of additional processing capacity for oil and gas fields on the Russian Caspian territory would produce 15 million tons of cargo per year by 2020.