YAKUTSK, June 23. /TASS/. The Association of All-Terrain Vehicles Manufacturers suggests integrating all-terrain vehicles into the Transarctic Transport Corridor Strategy, to create a network of "all-terrain hubs" in the Arctic, the Association's Deputy President Tatiana Zikunkova told TASS.
In May, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to develop a financial, economic and organizational model for the Transarctic Transport Corridor (St. Petersburg - Murmansk - Arkhangelsk - Vladivostok), stressing NSR (the Northern Sea Route) should become the Transarctic Transport Corridor's key section to connect the world's industrial, agricultural, energy centers and markets by a shorter, safer, economically profitable route, the president noted.
"I am convinced that all-terrain vehicles are not just auxiliary vehicles, they are a strategic element of the developing Transarctic Transport Corridor ecosystem. All-terrain vehicles should be integrated into the Transarctic Transport Corridor Strategy at the system level, to develop and lay all-terrain routes," the association's representative said.
The association suggests creating a network of backbone "all-terrain hubs" in the Arctic, including maintenance points, gas stations, and warm parking lots along main routes.
"All-terrain vehicles are already solving specific problems in the Arctic. These include supplies to remote locations, emergency rescue operations, maintenance in the oil and gas sector, and many more. The equipment and production facilities exist and develop actively, the industry is ready to start working actively," she added.
Advantages of all-terrain vehicles
Main advantages of all-terrain vehicles are that they are able to ensure development, to build an effective logistics chain along the Transarctic Transport Corridor and the Northern Sea Route, she continued. That would mean overcoming the "logistics blockade" in the absence of navigation. "Modern all-terrain vehicles operate in any season and in any weather conditions. They do not depend on flight or ice conditions. Using them solves the problem of unavailable navigation for 8 months a year and unavailable winter roads in the off-season," the specialist said.
Using all-terrain vehicles cuts significantly logistics costs. "Transporting 1 ton of cargo per 1 kilometer by all-terrain vehicle is four to eight times cheaper than by helicopter due to the use of diesel fuel and easier maintenance. Thus become cost-effective supplies to remote villages, deposits development, maintenance and a number of other tasks," she added.
All-terrain vehicles run along optimized routes. "All-terrain vehicles can move in azimuth, through swamps, forests, hummocks, and almost any difficult terrain. This allows shorter routes, including through littoral and water barriers. All-terrain vehicles can follow a timetable, which is a key to planning business processes in the Arctic," she said in conclusion.