The Governor of the Murmansk Region Andrey Chibis took part in a meeting of the Council for the Development of the Far East, the Arctic and Antarctica under the Federation Council of the Russian Federation under the leadership of Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Galina Karelova. At the meeting, the governor made a number of proposals for the development of the northern territories.
Governor Andrey Chibis noted that strategic macro-regions, on which the economy and security of the country depend, require the closest attention.
"The Red Banner Northern Fleet, aviation, coastal troops, surface and strategic submarine forces are based in the Murmansk Region, which provide nuclear deterrence and protection of our country in the waters of the world Ocean, perform combat missions as part of a special military operation. Creating comfortable living conditions for servicemen and their families is a national task. Systematic financing of the Renovation Plan is required, but in the regions of the Russian Arctic," said Governor Andrey Chibis.
Also, the head of the Kola Polar Region drew the senators' attention to the high cost of building multi-apartment housing in the northern territories.
"At the meeting of the working group on ensuring transport, logistics and socio-economic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, we discussed that it is extremely important to form a mechanism of state support for housing construction in the Russian Arctic, providing for subsidizing developers when implementing low-margin investment projects for housing construction in the territory of the Russian Arctic," said Andrey Chibis.
According to Galina Karelova, an additional tool to achieve this goal could be the Arctic Quarter program – by analogy with the Far Eastern Quarter program launched in the Far Eastern Federal District.
"State support of developers will allow a multiple increase in the volume of construction in the Arctic, new housing would become more affordable for citizens," she said.
The head of the Ministry of Regional Development of Russia, Alexey Chekunkov, stressed that the priority direction of the Russian Government's work is to improve the quality of life of Northerners, including through the creation of new social infrastructure facilities.
Also at the meeting, the participants discussed the problems of transport accessibility of the Arctic macroregion, the development of air transportation and the Northern Sea Route.
Governor Andrey Chibis, speaking to the senators, thanked them for their attention to the development of the Arctic and spoke about the role of the Murmansk Region in ensuring the national interests of the country in the Arctic zone.
Andrey Chibis noted that despite the pandemic and sanctions restrictions, the Murmansk region is actively developing. The government managed to achieve the adoption of key federal investment decisions for the region. So, in 2022, the decision to gasify the Murmansk Region with mainline natural gas was supported by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. Gazprom PJSC has already started designing the Volkhov–Murmansk main gas pipeline. In addition, a logistics project is being implemented – the Murmansk transport hub. The construction of the railway and the Lavna coal transshipment complex is planned to be completed this year. Also, thanks to the support of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, the financing of electricity and water supply on the Western Shore of the Kola Bay was provided at the expense of the federal budget.
Among the key projects for the region and the country are also the center for the construction of large-capacity offshore structures of Novatek-Murmansk and the development of a lithium deposit.
The Governor noted that 5,318 new jobs were created in the Murmansk Region by residents of the Russian Arctic and the TOP "Capital of the Arctic", and the total actual investment in the region's economy today amounted to 170.9 billion rubles.
"Thanks to the jobs created in the Murmansk region, the number of able-bodied population has increased for the first time in many years. But objectively, the reality is that the population of the Arctic regions is declining. Therefore, the support of young people is our main task. We have introduced a "mom's salary", implemented a youth employment program and comprehensive support for young professionals, doctors and teachers. We place a special emphasis on young people – a network of multifunctional spaces has been opened in the region that meet the modern needs of this category of Northerners in various fields," Andrey Chibis said.
Thanks to economic growth and infrastructure development, there is also a demand for housing.
"In July 2022, we launched a unique project "Our Home in the Arctic". Those who plan to buy or build housing in the Murmansk region can receive up to 1.5 million rubles. During this time, 315 certificates have already been issued, 52 houses have already been built," Andrei Chibis said.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /