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Norilsk development plan to be implemented after government’s approval

The plan’s implementation will be "an expressive example of a private-public partnership"

ST. PETERSBURG, December 2. /TASS/. The implementation of a complex plan to develop Norilsk, where investments will make 120 billion rubles ($1.6 billion), will begin right after the government approves it, the Norilsk Nickel Company’s Vice President Andrei Grachev said at the Arctic: Present and Future forum on Thursday.

In February, 2021, a four-party agreement on Norilsk’s social and economic development was inked by the Ministry for Development of the Far East and Arctic, Nornickel (the Norilsk Nickel Company), the Krasnoyarsk region’s government, and Norilsk’s city administration. The total investments in the city’s development to 2024 and further on to 2035 make 120.1 billion rubles, where 81.3 billion rubles ($1.1 billion) will come from Nornickel.

"The project has been presented to the government," Nornickel’s representative said. "We expect it will be approved."

"As soon as it happens, we will begin the construction of kindergartens, schools, technical structures, as well as the renovation of social facilities," he added.

The plan’s implementation will be "an expressive example of a private-public partnership," he said. "For Norilsk, it will be the beginning of a renaissance epoch."

Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic Alexei Chekunov said under the project the city would receive more than 70 new houses, a school for 1,100 students, and developed social infrastructures.

The 11th international forum Arctic: Present and Future will continue working in St. Petersburg to December 4. The program, which includes 52 discussion sites, two plenary sessions, and roundtables, will focus on the Arctic ecology, development of infrastructure shipments along the Northern Sea Route, and other topics. TASS is the event’s general information partner.

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