MOSCOW, September 15. /TASS/. The Murmansk Region plans to build under concession agreements a covered park-bridge and a congress center with a food hall. The plan is a part of the New Murmansk project to redevelop a former ship repairing plant. Investments in both concession lots will make about 8.1 billion rubles ($135 million), the Corporation for the Murmansk Region Development’s Director Svetlana Panfilova said during a presentation at the 9th infrastructure congress - Russian PPP Week.

The New Murmansk project’s cost is estimated at 17.6 billion rubles ($293 million), where 2.1 billion rubles ($35 million) come from a capital grant, and 4.55 billion rubles ($76 million) come from an infrastructure loan to build the project’s transport and engineering infrastructures.

"A covered park-bridge and a museum - those are new construction projects - may be made under a concession, and additionally a congress center, an event platform and a food hall may be made under the redevelopment also in the form of a concession," she said during the forum’s session devoted the Murmansk Region’s PPP (public-private partnership) infrastructure projects.

Parties to the project may invest 4.4 billion rubles ($73 million) in building of the Arctic Museum and of the park-bridge, which will connect downtown Murmansk, the railway station and the marine passenger terminal into a common cultural space. The second concession lot is a congress center, an event platform and a food hall. The Corporation for the Murmansk Region Development estimates investments at 3.7 billion rubles ($62 million). Thus, the two concession projects’ cost is 8.1 billion rubles ($135 million).

The construction of a park-bridge and an event platform must be completed by 2026 - at the first stage of the New Murmansk project’s implementation, the development corporation’s representative said. The second stage, which includes a big leisure center, is due to be completed in 2029, she added.

Other PPP infrastructure projects

During the forum, the Murmansk Region presented a few more infrastructure projects to attract tourists to the Arctic and to improve the living conditions. One of them is a workout complex in Murmansk with a swimming pool and a climbing wall. The regional authorities say, about 8,000 people go swimming in the city’s six standard swimming pools, though according to the modern norms the respective number of swimming pools to satisfy this demand must be 15.

"By this project’s implementation we will meet the target requirements of the regional workout and sports program - to increase from 47% to 54% the sports’ facilities capability by 2025," the corporation’s first deputy director, Artem Kuksa, said. The project’s cost is 830 million rubles ($14 million), where 180 million rubles ($3 million) will come from a capital grant. The swimming pool is due to be commissioned in 2025.

Arctic waterpark on the Arctic beach

Another project to develop the Murmansk Region is to build the Arctic waterpark. The local residents have expressed high interest in it, the corporation’s director said. Though the region has many lakes and rivers, water there does not get warm enough, and thus the residents are short of places for swimming.

"A waterpark is a compensation for the harsh climate. It’s always nice to get warm, to relax, and our residents will enjoy the park both in winter and in summer," she said, presenting another investment project. "Not all people living in the Murmansk Region travel to warm places in summer. We want to build a waterpark, which will meet all the modern requirements. A waterpark with pools, slides, and also services like gyms, cafes, restaurants and spa."

The plot’s area is 10,000 square meters. The complex is due to be commissioned in 2026. The cost is 1.8 billion rubles ($30 million). The capacity will be about 250,000 visitors a year. The Arctic waterpark will be built on Murmansk’s beach. "The allocated plots are in the territory of Murmansk, with views on the Kola Bay. We have a very limited number of plots with the access to the Kola Bay, as the city is highly urbanized. The local people have been using those plots to relax. It is the so-called Arctic beach, and the task is to make a waterpark there," she concluded.

Arctic tax incentives

The Murmansk Region’s Governor Andrey Chibis at the end of the investment session stressed the importance of local special tax conditions, which increase the effectiveness of investments.

"The first is the first and only advance-development territory in the Russian Arctic - ‘The Capital of Arctic,’ which has business residents. The second regime is the Russian Federation’s Arctic Zone, and the Murmansk Region is fully inside it - it also offers unprecedented tax benefits. The third regime is the incentives we’ve adopted for a few years to go for small and medium businesses, where we actually cut taxes by six times, right to work on infrastructures. These three regimes make any project more effective - both small and big projects. The current booming economic growth in this part of the year is caused by the high interest and by the incentives we offer," the governor said.

About forum

The 9th infrastructure congress - Russian PPP Week is running from September 12 to September 15 in Moscow. It is organized by the National PPP Center and VEB.RF.