MOSCOW, May 4. /TASS/. A system of regional funds formed from a portion of rental income from resource extraction should be created in the Arctic to build up the northern territories' investment potential, Deputy Chairperson of the Council for the Study of Productive Forces at the Academy of Foreign Trade under Russia's Ministry of Economic Development, Professor at the Mining Institute of the MISIS University of Science and Technology Svetlana Lipina told TASS.

"The problem is that a significant part of the rents and profits from the development of Arctic resources is accumulated in the federal budget and at company headquarters, not in the regions," she said. "This situation limits economic diversification opportunities. <...> Part of rental payments should be automatically sent to regional investment or stabilization funds with transparent regulations and strict target restrictions."

This approach could favor bigger investments in infrastructures, education and economic diversification projects, she added.

Nowadays, a significant part of revenues from Arctic projects is concentrated at the federal level and at corporate headquarters located in Moscow and St. Petersburg, while the regions are receiving only a limited amount of resources for development. She mentioned the Yamalo-Nenets and Nenets Autonomous Regions, the Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Regions, Yakutia, the Krasnoyarsk Region (including Taimyr) and the Chukotka Autonomous Region among territories most sensitive to this income distribution model.

The expert proposed to introduce mechanisms involving companies' obligations to localize, train personnel and develop infrastructures in exchange for preferences, as well as the redistribution certain parts of revenues from transit and port activities in favor of the hub regions.

The proposed changes do not mean a radical revision of the management system, she stressed, adding they are aimed at improving efficiency. "Incentives should be formed through tax and investment preferences for a true presence and for capital investments in the region," the expert said in conclusion.