MURMANSK, August 21. /TASS/. The development of the Transarctic Transport Corridor and the Northern Sea Route will strengthen Russia's export potential and economy, Doctor of Economics, Professor of the Higher School of Production Management at the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Alexey Fadeev told TASS.

The Transarctic Corridor connects Russia's eastern and western parts, the ports of St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, through the North's seas, the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. It is designed to connect the world's industrial, agricultural, energy centers and consumer markets offering a short, safe and economically profitable route.

"The Transarctic Corridor's development strengthens Russia's export potential, creating new competitive advantages both in shipping hydrocarbons to existing markets and in creating opportunities for efficient export of the country's products. Russia has been actively developing the Northern Sea Route, consistently insisting on the safety of transportation in the Arctic, using best available technologies to ensure navigation safety," he said.

If the Northern Sea Route (NSR) joins the North-South Transport Corridor, the range of goods passing the Murmansk Transport Hub (MTH) in transit will increase significantly: traditional mineral products, oil cargo, liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as the widest range of cargo from consumer goods to IT equipment and vehicles, he continued.

"It is important to note that right now the People's Republic of China is the key foreign trade partner for 140 countries out of 193 UN member states. China is a "global factory" that produces practically everything. This requires rhythmic deliveries to consumers, while most of those are located in the western hemisphere. In this sense, the Northern Sea Route is the optimal solution for efficient logistics flows. And taking into account the potential "embedding" of MTH into the North-South Transport Corridor, we may assume transportation of those goods in reverse mode towards countries in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean zone," he said.

Integrated development of territories

The Transarctic Transport Corridor project is not just about delivering goods from point A to point B, he added. First of all it is about development of territories and related communications. Including a project like the Northern Latitudinal Railway, which is currently largely determined by the Northern Sea Route's development and involves building railway approaches and access roads to ports on the Arctic coast to bring and take goods and mineral products.

"We expect 1.8 trillion rubles ($22 billion) will be allocated for development of port infrastructures alone. Noteworthy, as many as 19.5 trillion rubles ($243 billion) will be invested directly or indirectly in projects related to the Northern Sea Route by 2035. At the same time, tax deductions from these projects alone will exceed 21 trillion rubles ($262 billion)," he said.

The long-awaited process of gas lines to a number of Arctic regions may accelerate indirectly development of territories and logistics potential as it will be an economic incentive for new types of production and for upgrade of existing enterprises, thus cutting production costs and, consequently, this will contribute to the regions' economic development. Certain estimates forecast the Transarctic Transport Corridor's transit may become the Russian Arctic's second biggest source of income after the extraction of natural resources.