"Murmansk can become the main container hub in the Arctic with the provision of appropriate infrastructure": this was stated by Governor Andrey Chibis during the session "The Northern Sea Route: Expanding Arctic Horizons", held today at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.
The participants in the discussion were Advisor to the President of Russia Igor Levitin, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunkov, Special Representative for Arctic Development of the Rosatom State Corporation Vladimir Panov, heads of the Arctic regions, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Viktor Yevtukhov, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DP World Group Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of the Chinese the freight forwarding company Ke Jin, Rector of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University Mikhail Gordin.
The head of the region stressed that the Northern Sea Route is the most important logistics direction for Russia and the whole world, a powerful growth point for the Murmansk region.
"Murmansk is the base port of the NSR. Cargo turnover by the end of 2023 amounted to 58 million tons. An increase of almost 3% compared to the previous year. The port is deep–water and ice-free - we work all year round. It is one of the five largest in Russia. We are working together with the Russian government and companies on the task set by President Vladimir Putin to increase the capacity of the Murmansk port to 110 million tons per year. One of the key projects is the Murmansk transport hub: the port of Lavna is being built, we are increasing the carrying capacity of the railway line," Andrei Chibis stressed.
The Governor recalled that last year the President opened a working movement on the railway under construction to the western shore of the Kola Bay.
"This is almost 50 kilometers of railway line. Today, the port of Murmansk and transshipment are mainly concentrated on the eastern shore of the bay. We are actually discovering the second line of the mooring front. By the end of this year, taking into account the new railway, 45 million tons can be delivered to us, and then the goal is to double to 110 million tons. As part of the new national project, we are working to ensure that all long-range approaches and the entire railway infrastructure gradually provide us with a steam locomotive of exactly this volume of cargo. Everything related to the port infrastructure is actively developing. The port of Lavna is the first new port in the Murmansk Region since the Soviet Union, which will operate on the western shore of the Kola Bay, where the new railway went. This is 18 million tons, we plan that it will start working this year," the governor said.
Andrey Chibis noted that another main strategic project, supported by the President, the gasification of the Murmansk Region, has been put into practical implementation.
"In the long term, this is not only a reduction in public utility bills and an improvement in the environmental component, it is a radical increase in production in the Murmansk region and the entire Arctic. The Murmansk LNG project was fixed by the decision of the President. We already have a unique competence center for the production of floating gas liquefaction plants of NOVATEK, a high-class, technological one, and now these plants will produce liquefied natural gas in the Murmansk region, this is also an additional load of the NSR. Also, among the cargoes will be everything that we extract in the region from the richest storehouse of nature," the governor listed.
The head of the region also recalled that the implementation of the Western Transport and Logical Hub container terminal project has started in the region.
"Murmansk can become the main container hub in the Arctic. This is what we are currently actively working on with investors. This requires infrastructure, but the first projects with a sufficiently large volume of cargo handling are already being implemented. In addition, we are working with colleagues to develop everything related to the maintenance of offshore projects," Andrei Chibis said. The governor called the development of a ship repair complex in the Murmansk region a separate point of growth, which will allow servicing ships based here, including icebreakers.
Andrey Chibis emphasized that the Northern Sea Route opens up serious economic and logistical prospects for the Arctic regions, as well as gives a powerful impetus to improving the quality of life and the emergence of high-paying jobs in various fields. According to the governor, the most important area of work for the regional government is to intensify the training of professional personnel for these large-scale projects.
"It's not just about competencies, but about the comprehensive development of conditions and infrastructure to live and work in the Arctic, and of course, in the Murmansk region. We are doing everything to ensure that the plans formulated by the President and the Government are fully implemented. Our people are certainly interested in this," the head of the region said in conclusion.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /