Russian ministry prepares multi-billion USD plan to develop Arctic resources

MOSCOW, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Natural Resources Ministry said Wednesday it had compiled and sent to the government for consideration a comprehensive plan to develop the country's arctic resources to 2030 and beyond.

The plan includes 118 projects aimed at the development and processing of the mineral resource base of the arctic zone of Russia and related infrastructure support, the ministry said in a statement.

It also covers projects in the field of shipbuilding, ecology, tourism and various other sectors, compiled on the basis of proposals sent by nine northern Russian regions, government institutions, public organizations and strategic industrial companies, it said.

In particular, the document analyzes the viability of more than quadrupling the cargo flow along the Northern Sea Route to 80 million tons a year by 2024 in accordance with a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

An increase in the projected volume of cargo traffic through the Northern Sea Route is possible with the timely commissioning of all planned coal and oil projects, as well as the implementation of a number of promising infrastructure projects, the statement said.

The implementation of the plan will require 10.5 trillion rubles (160 billion U.S. dollars) of extra-budgetary investments, the statement said.