YAKUTSK, November 26. /TASS/. The Special Investment Contract mechanism should be used to develop shipbuilding and ship repair facilities in the Arctic as part of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor project, the Arctic Development Project Office's coordinator, associate professor at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), Alexander Vorotnikov told TASS on sidelines of the Northern Forum in Yakutsk.
The Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor is a route connecting Russia's eastern and western parts, the ports of St. Petersburg and Vladivostok, through the northern seas, the ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk. It is designed to connect the world's industrial, agricultural, energy centers and consumer markets with a shorter, safer and economically-attractive route.
"This is about having port infrastructures (as part of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor development - TASS), having vessels and ship repair facilities. Clearly, vessels need to be repaired on site, not to get somewhere in the center. This means we need either to have new shipbuilding facilities or to upgrade old ones, for example, the Zhatai Shipyard in Yakutia. What kind of tool can there be? A Special Investment Contract - an agreement between the investor and the state, which outlines obligations of the project's initiator to develop production capacity on time and attract investments. Russian shipbuilding and ship repair industries have been using such a tool poorly, although it is provided for in the regulations on it," the expert said. According to him, the state, represented by industry regulators, should ensure the industrial production is localized.
The expert stressed that under the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor project, it is necessary to develop port infrastructures as well as the Arctic backbone cities along the route. "Without developing these cities, located throughout the corridor, we will not develop the corridor. Those are people who live there that are engaged in ship maintenance and port maintenance. That is, where they live, everything is connected with development of the transport corridor and development of those cities," he said. A most important mechanism for development of the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor and backbone cities in the Arctic is public-private partnership, and Russia has a positive experience of using this tool, he added, stressing the Russian government had listed Arctic backbone agglomerations, and more than 500 events until 2035, where investment is planned at more than 3 trillion rubles ($38 billion), and most funds will come from extra-budgetary sources.
About the forum
On November 26 - 28, 2025, Yakutsk hosts for the sixth time the Northern Sustainable Development Forum. The organizers are Yakutia's government, the Northern Forum international organization of the northern regions, the Northeastern Federal University, the Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts, the Permafrost Institute, and the Sever (North) Scientific and Educational center.
The Northern Sustainable Development Forum is an ongoing annual international expert platform to discuss sustainable development of the North and the Arctic. The event's idea is to unite the world community in solving problems of sustainable development of the North and the Arctic, and in achieving the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals.