ST. PETERSBURG, December 4. /TASS/. Authorities of north-western Karelia Region suggest beginning construction of a deep-water port on the White Sea with the annual capacity of about 15 million tonnes of cargo, the republic’s head Artur Parfenchikov told The Arctic: Present and Future forum in St. Petersburg on Monday.
"Karelia’s Arctic zone has major transport hubs: the Oktyabrskaya railway, the Kola federal highway; and the territory of the White Sea - Baltic canal, also in the Arctic zone, is the access to the Volga-Baltic Region," he said. "Thus, we would like suggesting building a deep-water port in the city of Belomorsk with the capacity growing gradually to 15 million tonnes a year."
The authorities consider promising the idea of a deep-water port on the White Sea, he continued, as it will have convenient logistics.
The seventh international forum - The Arctic: Present and Future - is working in St. Petersburg on December 4-6. This time, the event’s key topics are development of the Arctic backbone zones, and the social and economic development of the Polar territories. The forum’s organizer is the Association of Polar Explorers inter-regional non-governmental organization.