MOSCOW, December 11. /TASS/. Five airports in the Russian Arctic zone will be reconstructed by the end of next year, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
"There are 47 civil aviation airfields and 39 landing sites in the Arctic zone. This year we are working on the reconstruction of five airports, three of them - Pevek, Arkhangelsk and Chersky - will be commissioned this year, while two airports - Murmansk and Berengovsky will be commissioned next year," he said.
Pevek and Beringovsky airports are located in Chukotka, Chersky is near Yakutsk.
In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited developing tourism in Russia’s Arctic zone as one of the country’s "most important systemic tasks". "Among the most important systemic tasks is the development of tourism, which has huge potential in the Arctic zone," the head of state said. In his words, in order to fully develop the tourism industry in the region, it is necessary to improve the hospitality industry, to offer interesting tourist routes and services, as well as to develop cities and towns.
Putin considers the development of the Arctic an undeniable priority, since the region is of critical importance for the country's defense, logistics and energy.
"The Arctic zone has a special, strategic significance for us. It is a region with enormous economic opportunities," the head of state said. "We largely associate the strengthening of the energy potential of our country, expansion of logistics capabilities, ensuring national security and defense with it (the Arctic region - TASS) and therefore the further comprehensive development of these territories is an indisputable priority for us," Putin stressed.
At the current meeting, the President proposed to focus on such issues as "people’s quality of life, the modern view and future of northern cities and towns - both new ones founded in the 20th century, and cities with a centuries-old history."
"All of them, of course, are symbols, the embodiment of a huge will, a colossal role, one might say, audacity, labor, courage of many generations of our ancestors and our contemporaries, who have also developed and are developing the north," the head of state said. Putin drew attention to the fact that "today millions of people live in the region, work, start families, raise children and make a huge contribution to the development of the entire country.".