Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev and Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District Alexander Gutsan discussed the possibility of building a new shipyard in the region and expanding the carrying capacity of the Murmansk transport hub during a meeting on ensuring national interests in the Arctic, the development of shipbuilding and port facilities in the Murmansk region.
Opening the meeting, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev stressed that the Northern Sea Route is of great importance in the development of the country's economy. However, in order for the Northern Sea Route to assume the role of one of the main transport routes in Russia, it is necessary to modernize the infrastructure and ensure the development of the ports of the Northern Sea Route, including Murmansk.
"The prospective volume of transshipment of goods to rail transport in the direction of the Murmansk seaport by 2030 should amount to more than 100 million tons. And the need for cargo transportation will only increase in the near future. This requires an increase in the carrying capacity of long–range and short-range railway approaches to the port," Nikolai Patrushev stressed.
The potential of the Murmansk port needs to be developed, in particular, through the construction of modern domestic cargo ships, including ice-class ones.
"Today we have examined potential sites for the construction of a new shipbuilding enterprise. I count on the interested participation of federal agencies and the government of the region in the implementation of a new promising project," Nikolai Patrushev said.
Issues related to the implementation of the national maritime policy on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin will be engaged in the Maritime Board of Russia, established on August 13, 2024.
"The Murmansk Region is the first region where we are holding a meeting after the decision of the President of Russia to create a Maritime Board. Interested officials, governors, scientists, representatives of business and the public will be involved in the work of the board. We are ready to listen to concrete proposals on the formation and implementation of a national maritime policy at open dialogues. We will take into account the constructive suggestions that will be made during our meeting when preparing a report to the President of the Russian Federation," Nikolai Patrushev said.
Alexander Gutsan, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District, also noted in his speech the need to modernize existing shipbuilding production facilities and their construction, including in Murmansk.
"The port of Murmansk is the largest ice-free water port with no restrictions on the size of ships. In addition, it has access to the World Ocean without passing through international straits, which eliminates the risks of negative actions from unfriendly countries. The necessary conditions have been created in the region for the construction of new shipbuilding enterprises. Today we examined the proposed sites for the construction of the Murmansk Shipbuilding Enterprise. The implementation of this project can give a new impetus to the development of the socio-economic sphere of Murmansk and the Murmansk region as a whole," Alexander Gutsan stressed.
Speaking at the meeting, the Governor of the Murmansk Region, Andrey Chibis, noted that the Government of the Murmansk Region, with the support of the Government of Russia, is systematically working to develop the Murmansk Port as a multimodal transport hub. New terminals and transshipment complexes are being built. In December last year, a working movement was launched along the Murmansk transport hub railway, which makes it possible to double the turnover of goods in the Kola Bay. But in order to increase the carrying capacity to the port of Murmansk, the development of railway infrastructure is required.
"It is necessary that when planning a national project in the field of transport development, railway infrastructure, as part of the investment program of Russian railways, all necessary measures to increase cargo traffic by at least 110 million tons should be taken and taken into account. If we don't start this work now, we'll be late later. Please support us. And secondly, it is very important to develop the topic of shipbuilding today. We are interested in shipbuilding enterprises appearing on the territory of the Murmansk Region," Andrei Chibis said.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /