MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. More than 3,000 loans were issued to Russian citizens under the Arctic Mortgage Program, where leading are the Arkhangelsk, Krasnoyarsk and Murmansk Regions, press service of the Ministry for Development of the Far East and Arctic said.

"In the Russian Federation's Arctic Zone, the number of special loans, issued at a minimum interest rate under the housing loan program for young families, is more than 3,000. The leaders in implementation of the Arctic Mortgage Program are the Arkhangelsk, Krasnoyarsk, Murmansk and Karelia Regions. The average loan amount in the Russian Arctic is 3.72 million rubles ($40,000)," the press service said.

According to Sergey Potanin of the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and Arctic, more than 200 loans have been issued per week, and this dynamics remains stable. By now, he continued 3,200 loans worth more than 12 billion rubles ($128 million) have been issued under the program.

"This program is available for young families as well as teachers, doctors, participants in the Hectare and labor mobility programs, and the defense industry employees. We plan to extend the program to participants in a special military operation and their families. The wider preferential categories mean the growing numbers of granted loans. For example, in the Far East and the Arctic, more than 15,000 families of people employed with medical and educational institutions have improved housing conditions using preferential mortgages," he said.

The Arctic Mortgage Program started in Russia in November, 2023. Residents of the Murmansk, Nenets, Yamalo-Nenets, Chukotka, northern municipalities of the Arkhangelsk Region, Krasnoyarsk, Yakutia, Karelia and Komi Regions may apply for a 2% mortgage.