KRASNOYARSK, September 8. /TASS/. Regions of Siberia, including the Krasnoyarsk Region, need to develop port infrastructures and upgrade their fleets to join the Transarctic Transport Corridor project, Co-Chairman of Delovaya Russia's regional branch, CEO of the Siberian Financial System Consulting Company, Valentin Bogomolov told TASS.
On September 5, at the Eastern Economic Forum, Russia's President Vladimir Putin noted the growing interest in the Transarctic Transport Corridor from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok from Russian companies operating in the Arctic and from foreign carriers.
"Siberia, and in particular the Krasnoyarsk Region, in order to join the Transarctic Transport Corridor, needs, to put it simply, just two things - port infrastructures and upgraded fleet. But in this case, it's easier said than done, because those are multibillion investments, and every project means several, or even a dozen years," the expert said.
That is why, he continued, federal and regional governments should be working on these projects already now. "It will be impossible to implement such projects without budget investments, budget loans and other mechanisms," he stressed. The expert admitted that private investors, including foreign investors from friendly and neutral countries, may participate in these projects, but the key organizational and financial burden will fall on the state.
Back in Soviet times, he said, cargo traffic in the Angara-Yenisei basin reached 30 million tons per annum, while now it has decreased to 6 million tons. The access to the Transarctic Transport Corridor will favor increasing the traffic to 15-17 million tons, and, in turn, will give an impetus to development of the Krasnoyarsk Region's remote territories.
The Transarctic Corridor is a route connecting the eastern and western parts of Russia, the ports of St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, through the North Seas, the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk, designed to connect the world's industrial, agricultural, energy centers and consumer markets with a shorter, safer and economically profitable route.
About the forum
The 10th Eastern Economic Forum took place in Vladivostok from September 3 to 6 under the theme "The Far East: Cooperation for Peace and Prosperity." The Roscongress Foundation was the event's organizer, with TASS as its general information partner.