A plenary session led by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin was held in Murmansk as part of the VI International Arctic Forum "The Arctic – the Territory of Dialogue". The key event, like the entire forum, was held under the slogan "Live in the North!".
The Head of State announced new support measures for the development of the Arctic regions and their inhabitants. Important decisions have been made that will make life in the Arctic more comfortable, the economy stronger, and the prospects even more ambitious.
Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that the capacity of the Murmansk transport hub should be increased by at least three times in the coming years.
"We are rapidly increasing the capacity and turnover of our northern ports. To do this on the basis of modern environmental solutions, including unmanned and automated cargo handling technologies. Thus, the capacity of the Murmansk transport hub due to the construction of new terminals and the expansion of railway approaches should be increased by at least three times in the coming years. Our partners from Belarus, China, the United Arab Emirates and other countries are showing interest in this project, and in the development of transport and infrastructure in the Arctic in general. This is a very interesting job from a business point of view. We intend to create large multimodal hubs as key logistics centers of the Transarctic corridor," said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The head of state also recalled the need for strict implementation of plans for gasification of the Murmansk region.
"The task must be completed by 2030, it will not be removed," Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed.
Also, during the plenary session, a number of instructions were given to the Government of the Russian Federation and federal agencies. They concern speeding up the adoption of the schedule for the implementation of the Arctic master plans, as well as extending the renovation program of the park until 2030 with an annual amount of financial support from the federal budget of at least 10 billion rubles.
"In particular, as I have already said, it is necessary to provide for separate Arctic sections in our national projects, as well as launch a mechanism to involve business and strategic investors who work in the implementation of master plans. They either want to work in the Arctic or they want to work here," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Another topic highlighted by Russian President Vladimir Putin is emergency housing.
"I am instructing the Government to work out a plan of concrete actions by September 1 of this year, and this plan should be designed for at least ten years to solve this problem. In addition, as you know, the Affordable Rental Housing program has been launched in the Far East. Young people who come to the Far Eastern regions or graduate from educational institutions there, get a job, and can rent apartments at fairly low rates. In this case, the rent is subsidized from the regional and federal budgets. I propose to expand this program to the main settlements of the Arctic, so that rental housing becomes more affordable for those who start their career in the region, who want to live and work here. The program should start operating in the Arctic as early as 2026," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
The head of state also said that over the past ten years, the cargo flow of the Northern Sea Route – from the Kara Gate Strait to the Bering Strait – has increased by an order of magnitude. If in 2014, just recently, only four million tons of cargo were transported along it, then last year it was almost 38 million tons. This is five times more than the Soviet record.
"We think, yes, we are sure that by 2030 it will be 70-100 million tons. But our plans, both in terms of volume and geography of transportation, to build up the Arctic fleet, are much more ambitious. The Northern Sea Route is to become a key section of the Transarctic Transport Corridor, which will run from St. Petersburg through Murmansk to Vladivostok. It is designed to connect the world's industrial, agricultural, energy centers and consumer markets via a shorter, safer, economically profitable route. They talk about it everywhere, they write about it everywhere – both in the East and in the West, experts understand this perfectly well," said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Head of State instructed the Russian Government, with the participation of Rosatom, VEB, and the relevant State Council commission, to approve a financial, economic, and organizational model for the development of the Transarctic Transport Corridor by August 1 this year.
"To implement these and other major initiatives, it is necessary to pool the resources of the state, regions, and businesses, including both state-owned and private banks. It is necessary to use the opportunities of the domestic stock market to attract capital to the Arctic infrastructure. In this regard, I suggest thinking about creating a special project office under the auspices of our leading VEB development institute, which will support transport, logistics, infrastructure projects in the Arctic, as well as urban development projects in the region, and will become the structure where a potential investor can apply directly and receive the necessary support. I ask the Government to prepare proposals in this regard," the head of state said.
In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed within the framework of the competition to provide a separate additional limit from the federal budget for the development of embankments, pedestrian zones and playgrounds, for the layout of parks, squares and so on.
The head of state also highlighted the issue of accessibility of medical services in the North.
"I ask the Government to prepare a special mechanism for financing medical care. Also, in order to save the health of the inhabitants of the North, it is necessary to use digital technologies, equip mobile paramedic stations with artificial intelligence tools that allow both remotely and on the spot to diagnose human health, identify certain diseases and make recommendations for their treatment," said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition, the head of state stressed that Murmansk is dynamically developing, like other northern cities and regions of the Federation, launching landmark projects for the whole country.
"Murmansk is the capital of the Russian Arctic, a hero city," said Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Following the results of the plenary session, the Governor of the Murmansk Region, Andrey Chibis, expressed confidence that all the tasks set for the development of the Arctic regions of Russia, in particular those related to the Murmansk region, will be fulfilled.
"I thank the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, for new measures to support our region. My colleagues from the regional government and I carry out daily work in these areas, and we regularly run afoul of federal agencies. Our goal is to develop and strengthen the economy, make the lives of Northerners better, so that they can stay here, work and raise a future generation that will surely glorify our country," said Andrei Chibis.
The sixth International Arctic Forum "The Arctic – the territory of Dialogue" has been held in Murmansk since March 26 under the slogan "Live in the North!" Business, cultural and sports programs are held within the framework of the forum. The participants are looking for new ways of development for the Russian Arctic zone, exchange experiences and successful practices, and put forward ideas and initiatives.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /