NOVO-OGAREVO, November 22. /TASS/. The importance of the Northern Sea Route will increase manifold and the development of northern regions will support Russia's future to a significant degree, President Vladimir Putin said at a flag raising ceremony on board the Ural icebreaker and the Yakutia icebreaker launch.

"Apart from exploration of the Arctic Region and apart from development of the Northern regions securing the future of our country to a significant degree, the mere development of this route, especially considering the changing climate, is especially critical for our country now and such significance will grow dramatically in the near term," Putin said.

Russian authorities "made a timely decision to build a new icebreaker fleet to replace vessels to be decommissioned and with consideration of the growing significance and expanding capabilities of the Northern Sea Route," the President said. "Smooth financing, recovery and development of expertise - namely research and engineering in the sphere of special shipbuilding and nuclear power - not only allow us to prove the high technological status of Russia but also enable utilizing the capacity of existing and creating new production shipbuilding facilities, including in such critical regions as the Far East. I refer to the creation of the new major shipyard Zvezda," Putin noted.

"What is most notable is that it enables us to build up Russia’s leadership on such a critical transport route as the Northern Sea Route," the head of state said. Plans are in place to increase transportation via the Northern Sea Route to 200 mln metric tons, Putin noted. "Definitely it will be so, considering the volume and growth of global trade," he said, adding "that this is a huge turnover".