ARKHANGELSK, December 11Governor of the Arkhangelsk region Alexander Tsybulsky, during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the head of state held in Arkhangelsk, made a proposal to include the project for the construction of a deep-water port in the regional capital in the development plan of the Northern Sea Route until 2035.
In his speech, Tsybulsky noted that the Arkhangelsk region is a key region in the Northern Sea Route system, therefore, in general, the modernization of the Arkhangelsk transport hub with the construction of a deep-sea port will be of great importance for the development of the Arctic. Confirmation of interest in sending cargo through the new deep-sea area to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region has already been expressed by most of the forestry enterprises of the Northwestern Federal District and neighboring regions, as well as large Russian companies engaged in the production of petroleum products, fertilizers and ferrous metals.
“Today, for the development of the Northern Sea Route and increasing cargo turnover along it to 200 million tons by 2035, there is an obstacle in the form of a shortage of deep-sea areas in the waters of the Northern Sea Route. Here Arkhangelsk could become an important point for the development of the Northern Sea Route — we have developed a project for the development of Arkhangelsk transport hub,» Tsybulsky noted.
He explained that in September the Russian government issued a decree approving a comprehensive plan for the development of the Arkhangelsk transport hub for the period until 2035. It also involves the construction of a new deep-water area of the Arkhangelsk port. The regional authorities are actively discussing this issue with the state corporation Rosatom, which they see as a strategic partner. At the same time, the project to create a deep-sea port is financially intensive, and in order to make a final investment decision, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of state participation and the application of state support measures at the stages of construction and operation of the Arkhangelsk transport hub.
“In this regard, I would ask, following the results of our meeting today, Vladimir Vladimirovich, to give instructions to the government of Russia, the government of the Arkhangelsk region and the state corporation Rosatom to work on the issue of developing the Arkhangelsk transport hub and include the project for the construction of the deep-water port of Arkhangelsk in the development plan of the Northern Sea Route until 2035 as a strategic document of a higher level,” Tsybulsky summed up.
The regional authorities note that the current and future cargo base of the port of Arkhangelsk does not intersect with the cargo base of the Murmansk port and other ports of the Western Arctic. At the same time, the design capacity for cargo turnover is about 11 million tons per year, and in fact the port of Arkhangelsk handles an average of 6–6.5 million tons per year.