Today, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Government of the Murmansk Region and the National Association of Manufacturers of Building Materials and the Construction Industry (NOPSM) signed a cooperation agreement. The document was signed by the head of the region Andrey Chibis and the executive director of the Association Anton Solon.
"We have revived housing construction in the Murmansk Region — for the first time since the Soviet era, new residential areas are being built in the region. Thanks to the Arctic Mortgage at 2% and the Your Home in the Arctic program, we have generated tremendous demand: over the past 7 years, the volume of apartment building commissioning has increased 3.3 times, and individual housing — 6.9 times. However, we are faced with a challenge: the market is not keeping up with such a pace. The import of materials from other regions increases the cost of logistics, which is especially critical during the short construction season in the North. We need to create our own resource base. The development of the local building materials industry will directly accelerate the construction of new housing and social facilities. I am sure that the partnership with the NOPSM Association will help us solve this problem. In addition, construction materials have great potential to load the capacity of the Murmansk Port," said Andrey Chibis, Governor of the Murmansk Region.
The agreement is aimed at developing the industrial potential of the region, expanding cooperation with enterprises in the construction industry, as well as creating new logistics and export opportunities for Russian manufacturers through the Murmansk Region. As part of the cooperation, the parties will analyze the region's needs for building materials for investment, infrastructure and housing projects, as well as explore the prospects for localizing new production facilities in the region.
Special attention will be paid to the formation of a cargo base for the development of container transportation through the port of Murmansk and the expansion of export opportunities for Russian manufacturers in the markets of friendly countries. Another important area proposed by the Ministry of Energy of the Murmansk Region is the digitalization of municipal infrastructure: the introduction of IT solutions in the housing and communal services and construction industries, as well as the creation of digital counterparts of facilities for monitoring and preventing accidents.
The Executive Director of NOPSM emphasized the importance of cooperation with the region for the development of the domestic construction industry.
"We agree that the Murmansk Region demonstrates high rates of development and implementation of infrastructure projects, which creates additional opportunities for construction industry enterprises. We are ready to involve the expert potential of the Association and our participants in the development of promising areas of cooperation and investment projects in the region," Anton Solon said.
For reference: NOPSM unites the leading Russian manufacturers of building materials, products and structures. The Association unites more than 200 enterprises of the industry, whose products are used in the implementation of the largest construction and infrastructure projects in the country. Key members of the Association: Technonicol LLC, Knauf LLC, Aquanet Trading House LLC, Rockwool LLC and other industry leaders.
/ Ministry of Information Policy of the Murmansk Region /