MOSCOW, July 14. /TASS/. A few districts in the North-West may join the Russian Arctic zone, and this change will favor their transport, tourism and investment systems, local authorities told TASS, stressing the incentives for the Arctic residents would be helpful to develop the sectors, which formerly investors would not want to consider.
The State Duma has adopted in the second reading addendums to a bill, which expands the Arctic zone by eight districts and cities in the North-West.
"Expanding of the Arctic zone is favorable for the region first of all in the economic development aspect," press service of the Arkhangelsk Region’s government told TASS. "Investors will be supported in the Arctic zone, and business residents will enjoy incentives in federal, regional, and local taxes; the Russian government will offer other measures of support."
Development of natural resources
The territories, which want to join the Arctic zone, are ready to develop investment projects in natural resources: gas, coal and stone. The new status will guarantee to investors new benefits and preferences, which they await to launch new projects.
According to bills on incentives, new preferences would be offered to projects, where investments would be at least 10 million rubles ($141,400). Businesses will use special tax rates.
For example, the Arkhangelsk Region plans a new wood processing complex. The project’s investments are forecasted at 28.3 billion rubles ($400 million), the complex will offer 2,200 jobs. Along with development of the Belkomur railway’s northern passage, where investments are 104.5 billion rubles ($1.5 billion), the project will open access to the North’s forest resources (up to 9 million cubic meters), will offer better transport connection and inter-regional social and economic integration.
Inta, a city with the population of 27,000, awaits a new status, as the Intaugol plant (coal producer) is being closed. The local authorities hope for development of a promising gas project. In 2020, the developing company will drill five wells to confirm the deposit. The investments are estimated at 2,500 billion rubles ($35.4 million), and the gross budget is 65 billion rubles ($919 million). The gas producing company owns 13 licensed areas in the Timano-Pechorsky oil and gas province, where reserves are forecasted at more than 59.4 bcm, and the general resource estimation is over 500 billion cubic meters.
Karelia’s authorities hope for new plants in stone production and processing.
"We are sure the new incentives would be attractive for investors in implementation of big projects in mining of iron ore, of construction stone for production of crushed stone, block stone, natural facing stone, sand and sand-gravel mix, as well as in organization of processing facilities near the mining areas. Supplies of gravel from Karelia for investment projects in neighboring Arctic regions will continue," Karelia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rodionov told TASS.
Tourism and transport
Experts say, the bigger Arctic zone will improve the transport system inside the country, and, on the other hand, will boost development of major logistics projects, which will use the beneficial geographical position of the North-Western territories. For Usinsk in Komi and for Karelia’s Kelevala it means an option to make easier access by regional and federal transport routes, to have new jobs, and thus to improve living conditions. The only road, which leads nowadays to the Kalevala Region, is in a poor condition, besides, the region does not have a railway line, the region’s official Valentina Vulavtseva said.
"The regional 150 km of the road Kem - Konka is the only connection with Karelia’s capital, and with all transport hubs," she said. "We use this road to bring in food and fuel. If the road’s quality improves, businesses will develop easier."
Kostomuksha’s officials hope to upgrade the Lyuttya border-crossing station on the road to Finland and to organize a logistics hub there. "We already eye a renovation project so that to serve more passengers, and in future we plan to build a logistics hub in Kostomuksha. Thus we shall participate in tourist projects, which use a transport corridor across Finland and Kistomuksha on the way to Belomorsk and Kem," Kostomuksha’s Mayor Anna Bendikova said.
Usinsk (in Komi) plans to develop tourism with ethnic coloring. The regional authorities plan facilities for winter sports, as the region remains under the snow blanket for nine months. "Komi’s culture is unique and it will be another direction of the Arctic tourism," Nikolai Tatayev said.
The Arkhangelsk Region plans to organize the Golubino landscape and culture park with a new tourist complex, fisher village, an agro-tourism farm, museums and crafts shops. The number of visitors is forecasted to jump by 40%.
Ready to go
As soon as the decision to expand the Arctic zone is formalized, the local authorities are ready to begin working with potential investors. Karelia may organize a regional managing company, which would give a hand to the Far East’s Agency for Attracting Investments and Supporting Export by undertaking certain responsibilities in the region.
Among existing projects, the region considers organization of data centers and network projects in Kostomuksha. Many northern territories experience a shortage of qualified labor force, and development of IT projects, which do not require many personnel, is an option to develop the regions.
"In the north, it is most complicated to offer professionals for big investment projects. <…> Unemployment in Kostomuksha is low presently, and our company Karelsky Okatysh (a part of Severstal), despite rather attractive wages or social conditions, also experiences a shortage of certain specialists. <…> But we may focus on projects, where we do not need many employees, like in the IT sector," Anna Bendikova (from Kostomuksha) said.