Federal Government to Fund Major Infrastructure Project in Yamal

Infrastructure is crucial for economic and social development in the Arctic. In the near future, one more major infrastructure project in the Russian High North will be launched -- the Federal Government has okayed the allocation of USD 650 million for the construction of a bridge across the Ob River in Yamal, one of Russia’s constituent entities in the Arctic. The news was announced by Vladimir Yakushev, the Presidential Envoy to the Urals Federal Area, this 18 January.

The construction of a strategically important bridge to connect two cities, Labytnangi and Salekhard, the region’s capital, will be financed through the infrastructural loan mechanism recently introduced by the Government. The Yamal authorities reportedly applied for federal funding for the project in December 2021.

The project is of significant importance to the oil and gas producing region accounting for up to 90% of all natural gas exported by Russia. It is expected to help address an array of issues.

First and foremost, it will spur the economic growth in the region of Yamal as a whole. It will contribute to an increase in economic activity and a drop in transportation cost, which will influence the value of locally produced goods and services so as to make them more competitive. Second, the bridge will link the regional capital area to the national railroad system thus improving the population mobility and revitalizing the local labor market. Last but not least, the bridge will provide the region with direct access to markets in the rest of Russia, making its supply chains less costly, more reliable and more efficient to operate.

Arctic Today is a column by PORA CEO Alexander Stotskiy analyzing major international, national and regional events and trends in the Arctic.