Top Arctic stories of the week, 13 -- 17 December 2021

Below is a recap of this week’s posts by Alexander Stotskiy (CEO, Project Office for Arctic Development) analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.

Rosatom launched a project to develop a digital platform for the NSR

Rosatom commenced a project to design an integrated digital service platform for the Northern Sea Route (NSR). The product is expected to be delivered by Rosatom developers by June 2025. The platform will integrate various digital products, services and databases in order to improve the navigation safety and dispatcher control on the NSR. Launching this advanced and highly functional product will be an important step towards transforming the NSR into a major international shipping lane. Read more…

Russia and Nordic countries are committed to foster cooperation in the Arctic

Alexei Chekunkov, Minister for the Far East and Arctic, and senior diplomats representing Nordic nations held a meeting in Moscow. The participants discussed the prospects of dialog in the High North with a focus on economic, social and technological cooperation. Russia is ready to open doors for the Scandinavian businesses and investors. Among the most promising venues of cooperation explored during the meeting are green energy and renewables, introduction of eco-friendly technologies, launching new investment projects etc. Read more…

Russia promotes biological safety in the High North

Russia has come up with an initiative to establish a biosafety project in the Arctic Council. It was announced by Nikolay Korchunov, a top-ranking Russian diplomat who chairs the Committee of Senior Officials at the Arctic Council. The project will focus on studying the risks and possible effects of the thawing of permafrost. Scientists believe that the melting of permafrost could bring parts of ancient ecosystems to the surface -- along with viruses and bacteria, which can spread unknown diseases. The newly announced project will tackle this challenge. Read more…

The Government approved the Norilsk Development Plan until 2035

The key document provides for the renovation of residential buildings, construction of new community facilities, landscaping, and modernization of the city infrastructure. According to the Plan, more than 70 modern residential buildings along with two kindergartens, a school and a hospital will be constructed in Norilsk. To meet the Plan’s ambitious objectives, an investment of around USD 1.6 billion will be required. Most of the sum will be covered by major private corporations operating in the region. Read more…

Government spends more money on Arctic projects

The Russian Government issued an ordinance to allocate additional funds to several projects implemented in the Arctic. The governmental reserve fund will disburse about 900 million rubles to finance the construction of an LNG tanker. The ice-resistant tanker will be used to export liquid natural gas from Arctic LNG 2, a major Russian gas production project. The ship will be commissioned by 2023. Apart from this, some 10.5 billion rubles will be allocated to the State Transport Leasing Company operating in the Russian Arctic. The sum will cover the cost of leasing cargo, maintenance and passenger vessels. Read more…