Svetlana Panfilova, Deputy Governor of the Murmansk Region, presented a report on the key results and prospects for the development of the Murmansk Region's economy at a meeting of the regional Government, noting the region's leading positions in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. As it was noted, the Murmansk Region confidently ranks first in terms of the number of residents of the Russian Arctic — their number has reached 314, 90% of them belong to small and medium-sized businesses.
As Svetlana Panfilova emphasized, the economy of the Murmansk Region demonstrates stability and continued ability to develop investment potential in promising areas. The gross regional product per capita increased 2.3 times in 2019-2024, amounting to 1.7 million rubles. The average monthly nominal accrued salary by the end of 2025 reached 126,373.5 rubles, which allowed the region to enter the TOP 10 in Russia.
The investment portfolio of the Murmansk Region includes more than 300 projects with a total investment of over 3.2 trillion rubles for the next 10 years. To date, there are 320 residents of the Russian Arctic and TOP in the Murmansk Region, who have invested over 300 billion rubles since the beginning of preferential treatment. In just 7 years, the volume of investments in fixed assets amounted to about 1.8 trillion rubles.
Among the key projects being implemented is the comprehensive development of the Murmansk transport hub and the Lavna port, which became the first new port in the region since Soviet times. The development of the Kolmozersky lithium deposit continues, the gasification program of the region and the construction of the Kola NPP-2 are being implemented. The Center for the construction of large-tonnage offshore structures is recognized as a unique project that has no analogues in the world.
The ship repair industry is also actively developing. As part of the agreement with the Government of the Murmansk Region, S7 Group is working to restore the capacity of the Murmansk Shipyard in the area adjacent to the seaport. The development project includes both the restoration of floating ship repair facilities and onshore infrastructure. A pre-design stage for the implementation of a project to create a cluster-type ship repair facility has been launched on the territory of the coal base with the participation of GTLC. At the same time, an investor is being sought to implement projects in the northern region of Murmansk Sea Fishing Port JSC, which will create a new universal port and complete a comprehensive upgrade of the entire port infrastructure.
Special attention was paid to business support measures in the report. Since 2022, the Murmansk Region Industrial Development Fund has been successfully operating in the region, providing loans at rates from 1% to 5% per annum. During its operation, 15 loans totaling 270.5 million rubles were issued, and 12 investment projects were implemented. Also, starting from January 1, 2027, a Single preferential treatment for investors will begin to operate in the Far East and in the Arctic zone of Russia, which will combine the best practices of existing support measures.
The Murmansk Region is an export-oriented region. The products of local producers — fish, seafood, fertilizers, metals, packaging — are in demand all over the world. By the end of 2025, China became the main foreign trade partner of the region, and exports to the Republic of Belarus increased 8-fold. The regional Export Support Center provides services to support the entry of SMEs into foreign markets. In 2025, 10 SMEs signed export contracts worth more than 500 million rubles.
The Deputy Governor called the project to create an industrial park initiated by the Government of the Murmansk Region one of the promising examples of creating a modern infrastructure for investors. The project is included in the long-term plan for the integrated socio-economic development of the Murmansk agglomeration until 2035 and is supported at the federal level.
The industrial park will be located in a convenient location with high transport accessibility — in the vicinity of the regional center. The park is planned to be put into operation in stages. To implement the project, the Government of the Murmansk Region is working to attract federal budget funds. Currently, the concept, financial and economic model and roadmap of the project have been developed. A pool of 11 potential residents has been formed.
According to Svetlana Panfilova, the creation of an industrial park will allow entrepreneurs to reduce capital expenditures by 35-40%, reduce the start-up time from 24 to 6-8 months, and
localize supply chains in the Kola agglomeration.
"We are consistently creating a comfortable environment in the region for doing business and attracting investments. The Industrial Park will become another driver of economic growth in the Murmansk Region, a point of attraction for small and medium-sized businesses and the basis for creating new high-performance jobs," the Deputy Governor emphasized.
\Ministry of Arctic Development and Economy of the Murmansk Region\