In Moscow, on the eve of Arctic Day, Andrei Chibis, Chairman of the State Council Commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic, Governor of the Murmansk Region, held a press conference at the TASS news agency.
The main topic of discussion is the transition to a qualitatively new stage of development of the macroregion, through the development of a comprehensive project for the development of the Arctic and the Transarctic transport corridor, designed to consolidate the efforts of the state, state corporations and business.
Andrey Chibis recalled that exactly two years ago, on Arctic Day, the idea of creating a comprehensive project was publicly announced for the first time at the site of the relevant working group of the State Council Commission. Now this initiative has been transformed into specific instructions from the head of state.
"Today, at a meeting of the State Commission for the Development of the Arctic under the leadership of Yuri Petrovich Trutnev, we have already discussed its specific parameters. A fairly short amount of time has passed from the idea to the result, and I really hope that all the final decisions will be made in the coming months. We are moving forward," the governor said.
Special attention was paid during the press conference to the social dimension of Arctic policy. The Governor stressed that the development of the richest resources of the Kola North is impossible without creating comfortable living conditions for people.
"The North cannot be raised without people. Shift workers can build a specific field, launch a project. But in order for the territory to live and develop, qualified personnel are needed. And this requires two conditions. The first is adequate jobs with decent incomes. The second is the quality of life. A comfortable environment is important. But it is impossible to turn all the villages of the Far North into million-plus cities. Therefore, back in 2023, we launched an initiative: the government needs to determine a list of key settlements in the Arctic. To develop a master development plan for each of them, approve it at the federal level and provide federal funding for key facilities. This idea was supported by President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Today we have a list of strongholds approved by the government and plans for their development. The President instructed to allocate funding for these purposes in national projects, and fixed the norm: at least 5% of the amount of state programs should be directed to the development of key settlements in the Arctic and the Far East," said the head of the region.
In total, during the work of the State Council Commission, under the leadership of Andrei Chibis, 8 meetings were held, during which a number of strategic initiatives were worked out. Almost 20 of them have already formed the basis of the instructions of the President of Russia. Among the most important decisions are the extension of the renovation program with annual financing of at least 10 billion rubles, the extension of the "Arctic Mortgage" to the Arctic regions and the launch of a rental housing program, as well as a three—fold increase in the volume of financing of the northern import using budget loans.
During the press conference, the governor noted that Russia remains the world's leading Arctic power, having the largest territory in the Arctic and the world's only nuclear icebreaker fleet. The Arctic zone occupies 30% of the country's territory, forming up to 10% of Russia's GDP. In recent years, more than 35 trillion rubles of investments have been attracted to the Arctic, more than 1,000 investment projects are being implemented, and cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route reached a historic maximum of 38 million tons by the end of 2024.
The launch of the Arctic and Transarctic Transport Corridor complex project, which integrates all key areas of development in the Russian Arctic: ensuring national security, mining and deep processing of minerals, and the formation of a connected transport system combining the maritime corridor with railway infrastructure, river routes, and transport hubs, will consolidate Russia's leadership in the macroregion and ensure its sustainable development.
The journalists also asked about the training of qualified personnel to work in the territory. Andrey Chibis noted that the region is focused on training specialists in the most sought-after professions in the North by Murmansk Arctic University. It ranks in the top 10 among pedagogical and top 25 among technical universities in the country in terms of graduate employment. At the same time, the total amount of various scholarships can reach 50 thousand rubles per month. In addition, secondary vocational education is actively developing in the Murmansk Region, and a real reboot of colleges has been carried out.
The quality of the urban environment and the development of tourism were discussed at the press conference. Andrey Chibis spoke about the increase in tourist flow to the Murmansk region, which contributes to the creation of a new infrastructure. Thus, a modern airport terminal has been built, and new catering and recreation facilities have been added. All this also affects the quality of life of Northerners: the main thing is that people see and appreciate these changes in cities and towns.
/Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region/