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Upgrade of Arctic airports is due in 2021

Aviation is often the only transport in the North

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Renovation and upgrade of seven airports in the Arctic zone will begin in 2021 despite the earlier problems to attract contractors, Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, told the Future of Russia. National Projects portal, operated by TASS.

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"In 2021, we shall begin renovation of seven airports, and in 2022 - of another four," the authority said. "All the projects will be completed before end of 2024." In 2019, certain initial works began at airports in Neryungri, Olekminsk, Seimchan, Zhigansk and Verkhnevilyuisk. Projecting began for airports in Magan, Polyarny and Ust-Nera.

Renovation of the North’s airports is a part of the federal project to develop regional airports and routes.

Necessary renovation

Aviation is often the only transport in the North. In Yakutia and in the Magadan Region, the population density is lower than 0.3 persons per a square kilometer, and huge distances, separating towns and settlements, make aviation socially important. Some airports haven’t been renovated though their wooden terminals were built in the 1960s. Most airports have unpaved runways, which get soggy in spring and autumn. For example, the airport in Olekminsk has to terminate flights for 45 days every year because of soggy runways.

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