ST. PETERSBURG, June 10. /TASS/. Two billion tons of cargo worth about 100 trillion rubles ($1.1 trillion), bringing to the Russian Federation's budget some 20 trillion rubles ($225 billion) in tax revenues, are planned to be shipped along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), Russia's Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic Alexey Chekunkov said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
"NSR's dynamics is obvious to everyone: the growth over 12 years is 36 times, and the plans, invested by companies producing the goods that will need to be shipped via NSR, are 2 billion tons in the next 12 years. In fact, this is a huge economic layer, which costs more than 100 trillion rubles in today's prices, and there will be 20 trillion rubles in tax revenues only. Therefore, of course, the development of the Arctic is probably one of top priorities right now," he said.
The Arctic plays a huge role in the global economy: mineral resources - fertilizers, nickel, cobalt, platinum, copper; hydrocarbons - oil, gas, pulp and paper production and products of the timber industry, diamonds and shipbuilding, he continued. This focuses the attention of the entire global community on the Arctic in a variety of industries, and there is a clear understanding that the Northern Sea Route is a shorter road from Asia to Europe, and it becomes a key transport corridor.
"The Arctic's development dynamics is obvious: Russia's task is to be a leader in technology and management in the Arctic, therefore, while working on the master plans (of Arctic backbone settlements), we are trying to use most effective approaches," the minister stressed.
According to the Arkhangelsk Region Governor Alexander Tsybulsky, one of the key tasks is to ensure security on the Northern Sea Route. "In the coming years, there will be no Arctic zone in Russia that will not have rescue services, and by 2030 Russia will have an ultra-modern icebreaking fleet. Thus, it is extremely important that the coastal infrastructures are not a bottleneck, and this is on what we need to focus today," he said.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) took place on June 5-8. This year’s theme was "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." Events included meetings for small and medium-sized businesses, creative industries, the SPIEF Youth Day, as well as the Drug Security, SPIEF Academy and SPIEF Junior forums. SPIEF was organized by the Roscongress Foundation. TASS was the event's information partner.