ST. PETERSBURG, December 9. /TASS/. Development plans for Russia’s Arctic Zone must be structured at least through 2050, given the scale of investment and the extended implementation timelines for Arctic projects compared with other regions, Chairman of the State Council Commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic and Governor of the Murmansk Region Andrey Chibis said.
"We are completely aligned here: for the next step, a major step, in developing the Arctic Zone and the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor, a comprehensive plan is essential. The project must be at the presidential level and extend to 2050. This is fully justified, as planning in the Arctic — the scale of the projects, the volume of investment, and the timeframes for implementation — must be thoroughly and rigorously structured," Chibis said.
He added that a project of such magnitude could be administered by the newly created Arctic Development Corporation, established on the basis of the existing Far East and Arctic Development Corporation, or by a joint corporation formed by Rosatom and VEB.RF. The new corporation may issue Arctic bonds to attract investment.
Earlier, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chibis reported the risk of declining cargo volumes along the Northern Sea Route after 2035 and underscored the need to ensure sufficient freight traffic beyond that date. Putin endorsed his proposal to launch an integrated development project for the Arctic and the Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor. The project’s primary objectives include ensuring security, increasing resource extraction and deep processing, creating a seamless transport system, and establishing comfortable living conditions for residents of the North.