ST. PETERSBURG, October 17. /TASS/. The Cape Baranov Ice Base on the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago will be upgraded to become a large scientific and logistics center, which will serve Arctic expeditions as well as the Northern Sea Route, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations operations in the region, Alexander Makarov, Director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), managing the station, told reporters.

"The Cape Baranov Ice Base will be a major transport and logistics hub. It will be a supply center for the high-latitude Arctic expeditions, it may be used as a backbone point for the development of navigation along the Northern Sea Route and in the high-latitude Arctic, as well as for rescue operations of the Ministry of Emergency Situations," he said.

First actions towards this goal are due in 2024 - a large-scale expedition - North-2024 - will begin there. It will expand significantly research programs on the archipelago in the Arctic. Tourism and educational programs on Severnaya Zemlya also will develop.

The main impetus for the development of this ice base and its transformation into a scientific and logistics center was the construction of a new airfield on the archipelago, capable of receiving large transport aircraft. It was opened in April. Since then, it has passed tests in providing supplies to the North Pole-41 drifting station and to the Barneo camp, as well as to the Ministry of Emergency Situations' specialists.

AARI reported earlier they had prepared the airfield for operation in the polar night conditions - modern lighting and radio navigation equipment was installed on the runway. The airfield can receive Antonov AN-74, AN-72, AN-26 and AN-12 aircraft. Engineers plan to upgrade further the airfield to receive heavy Ilyushin IL-76. A new shift of polar explorers and necessary supplies have been delivered to the station on the Akademik Tryoshnikov scientific expedition vessel to expand the station's logistics and infrastructure.

The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) is the world's leading scientific center in studies of the Earth's polar regions. The institute's experts conduct the entire cycle of work in high latitudes in the interests of the Russian Federation and commercial companies. Scientific divisions are engaged in fundamental and applied research of climate, processes in the atmosphere, near space, marine environment and ice cover. AARI is a state operator for the organization and implementation of activities in the Arctic and Antarctic.