SYKTYVKAR, December 18. /TASS/. Under the master plan to develop the polar city of Vorkuta in the Komi Region, an Arctic backbone settlement, investments in the city's infrastructures will make more than 22 billion rubles ($214 million) to 2035. Large-scale investments will be directed to the housing and social sectors, transport and engineering infrastructures, and urban improvement, said press service of Vorkutaugol (part AEON Corporation's Russian Energy), Vorkuta's city-forming enterprise that initiated work on the master plan.
In December 2023, the Russian government listed 16 most important settlements in the Arctic, for which began work on development master plans for the period up to 2035. The implementation is due to begin in 2025.
"For the first stage of the master plan implementation, planned to 2035, investments of more than 22 billion rubles will be in development of residential buildings, the social sphere, transport, engineering and commercial infrastructures, and in the improvement of the city," the press service told TASS. "The master plan's design solutions by the RTDA Architectural Bureau were based on a thoroughly conducted urban planning analysis: key problems and potential development zones, unique features to be considered in further work on the city."
Experts analyzed social survey results and listed requests for missing urban facilities, suggested more effective transport services, engineering support, a unified system of urban public spaces, housing and social infrastructures, paying special attention to construction in the city.
As of 2023, Vorkuta's population was 67,800 people, where 56,700 lived in the city and the rest lived in suburbs outside the city. The master plan's first stage is aimed at relocating residents from the suburbs to the city. This concept of "controlled compression" has been in Vorkuta's general plan to cut budget expenditures on maintaining excess infrastructures and to create conditions for safe and comfortable life in the Arctic.
According to the developed concept, Vorkuta will become a compact city, where people will be resettled from 107 apartment buildings, cut from municipal resources, and from another 77 outdated houses.
Landscaping
When developing the landscaping, RTDA specialists took into account the city's history deciding to restore the city's existing framework - the Timansky ravine, which connects the city's previously divided parts into a single space. Works on the ravine have begun, and specialists are organizing an eco-trail. In the future, there will be the Timansky Ravine landscape park - investments are estimated at 48 million rubles ($466,000). Cable lifts, modular cafes, trade facilities, and sports equipment rental offices are due in 2025.
In the Central Square, specialists will make a bigger landscape area, will create zones for sports, games, entertainment and events, and will install a stage. The Mir Square will become a parade square in front of the Miners' Palace of Culture. Pedestrian zones will be changed, and there will be an open space with a temporary stage for city events in summer and a Christmas tree in winter. The landscaping cost is estimated at 1.2 billion rubles ($12 million) for the period to 2035.
The master plan has been approved Vostokgosplan, the Ministry for Development of the Far East and Arctic, and the expert department at the Presidential Administration.
In 2024, in addition to the large-scale work on the master plan, Vorkutaugol in agreement with Komi's authorities allocated more than 400 million rubles ($3.9 million) for development of urban infrastructures and social projects. The company has invested in buying heated bus shelters and in further in installation of self-made complexes produced at the company's division - the Vorkuta Mechanical Plant. Vorkutaugol has invested in solution of a long-standing problem to demolish resettled buildings and emergency stands of the Yubileyny Stadium. About 7 million rubles ($68,000) were allocated for landscaping, another 15.5 million rubles ($150,000) - for 1,000 Spruces to Beloved City - an unprecedented large-scale project.
About 44 million rubles ($427,000) were allocated for development of the education system - a mining career guidance center at school 23, a project to upgrade the building of former school 16 to make there the Capital of the World Center, to upgrade the training mine of the Vorkuta Arctic Mining and Polytechnic College. About 111 million rubles ($1 million) were allocated for 10 playgrounds and a carousel in the Central Square, and another 58 million ($563,000) for the upgrade of a runway and a passenger terminal at the Vorkuta airport.
According to Vostokgosplan, in 2024, Vorkuta's master plan won the second place at the prestigious Global Architecture & Design Awards.