The implementation of the governor's plan "To live in the North!" in the economic sphere became one of the topics of the meeting of the government of the Murmansk region. Svetlana Panfilova, Deputy Governor and Minister of Arctic Development and Economy of the Murmansk Region, spoke about the results of the work and the main events, and also thanked Andrey Chibis, head of the region, for his involvement in the implementation of key projects that shape the region's economy.
"The preferential regimes of the Russian Arctic and TOP, launched on the initiative of the Governor of the Murmansk Region since 2020, have already attracted 306 residents, of which 298 are residents of the Russian Arctic, which confirms the region's confident leadership. The total volume of planned investments exceeds 603 billion rubles, with the prospect of creating more than 14.6 thousand jobs. About 277 billion rubles have already been invested in the implementation of projects by residents, which has led to the creation of over 5,900 jobs," Svetlana Panfilova said.
These figures are also reflected in the investment portfolio of the Murmansk Region, which includes more than 300 projects with an investment potential of over 3.2 trillion rubles in the next 10 years.
The implementation of the large-scale project "Integrated Development of the Murmansk transport Hub" plays an important role in the strategic development of the region. This nationally significant project opens up new horizons for the port of Murmansk, which is already an absolute leader among the ports of the Arctic basin and one of the five largest ports in Russia. The project is aimed at developing the western shore of the Kola Bay, where a modern railway infrastructure will be built. It is expected that after the completion of the work, the carrying capacity of the railway approaches to the port will increase to 45 million tons per year. The implementation of the KRMTU project opens up wide opportunities for new port projects and increasing the cargo turnover of the port of Murmansk. The prospective volume of cargo transportation by rail to the Murmansk seaport will amount to about 100 million tons by 2030. The range of transported goods includes coal, mineral fertilizers, apatite and iron ore concentrate, general cargo and petroleum products.
The importance of this area was confirmed by the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase the capacity of the port of Murmansk three times through the construction of new port terminals and the expansion of railway approaches, given at the International Arctic Forum in March this year.
"On behalf of the Governor, the Murmansk Region, together with the Russian Ministry of Transport and interested shippers, is actively developing a detailed action plan to identify the necessary sources of financing that will allow Murmansk to become the largest logistics hub of the Transarctic transport corridor," said Svetlana Panfilova.
In parallel with the development of transport infrastructure, the Murmansk Region is actively using its rich resource potential to strengthen the country's technological sovereignty. Promising projects for the development of lithium deposits and rare earth metals are being implemented in the region, involving the construction of mining and processing plants for the extraction and processing of lithium-containing ore at the Kolmozersky and Polmostundra deposits. In addition, large industrial enterprises of the Murmansk region continue to actively implement their projects for the development and modernization of existing production facilities.
An important stage in the development of production potential was the governor's order to develop an industrial park project. As part of this initiative, relevant agreements were signed in June this year. The park will be able to provide production facilities for more than 10 enterprises.
The importance of ensuring energy security and further development of the nuclear industry was also noted. In terms of the construction of power units No. 1 and No. 2 of the Kola NPP-2, key preparatory stages have been successfully completed. Investment justification, environmental impact assessment, as well as materials for substantiating placement licenses have been developed.
In the context of the integrated development of the region, Svetlana Panfilova noted the dynamic development of small and medium-sized businesses. Measures to support SMEs are constantly being improved, taking into account the priority regional areas and the results of the governor's direct dialogue with the business community. So, in 2025, the procedure for granting the Governor's Start grant has been reformatted: projects in the areas defined by the plan "Live in the North!" have the opportunity to receive up to 2 million rubles.
According to a number of indicators, the Murmansk Region also remains in the leading positions: in terms of GRP per capita, it ranks 10th in Russia, 20th in the ranking of regions in terms of quality of life, and also ranks in the TOP 10 in terms of average salary.
/ Ministry of Arctic Development and Economy of the Murmansk Region /