The Russian Government continues to work on the infrastructure in the Arctic zone for developing the Northern Sea Route, an essential transport artery of national and global importance.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a directive approving a comprehensive development plan for the Arkhangelsk Transport Hub until 2035. The plan is the result of joint efforts by the Arkhangelsk Region Government and the federal Government. The first subsidized coastal voyage departed from Arkhangelsk via the Northern Sea Route in August.

“Drafted last year as per the Presidential instructions, the Northern Sea Route Development Plan covers a period until the mid-2030s. We have drafted a roadmap to develop the Arkhangelsk Transport Hub, considering the key role it plays in the Arctic. All this will substantially strengthen the transport framework in Russia’s northwest. We expect shipments through the port of Arkhangelsk to at least triple by the end of the next decade. This would pave the way for the implementation of several major industrial projects, and the creation of new jobs at hundreds of enterprises around the country that will contribute to setting up and operating new shipping and manufacturing capabilities,” Mikhail Mishustin noted at a meeting with deputies on current issues.

According to Alexander Tsybulsky, the Port of Arkhangelsk is a crucial point in an extensive system focused on the development of the Northern Sea Route whose infrastructure is being built at the President’s instruction.

The terminal and the deep-water section will be built in several stages.

In 2024, interested investors and the Arkhangelsk Region government are to draft an investment declaration, to be reviewed by the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport. Project specifications will be finished in 2025-2026, followed by the first construction phase. The new terminal and the deep-water section at the Port of Arkhangelsk are expected to open in 2031.

“The plan includes the construction and launch of a terminal for zinc-lead concentrate on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in 2026. Additionally, upgrading the nuclear ship fleet and ice-class vessels, developing railway and road infrastructure, including construction of new access roads and bridges connected to the existing and new terminals at the Port of Arkhangelsk, are essential parts of this development plan,” Alexander Tsybulsky added.

The document also provides for exploring the feasibility of building and renovating the coastal infrastructure in Arkhangelsk for docking rescue vessels, hydrographic survey ships and buoy vessels at the Port of Arkhangelsk.

A substantial part of the plan concerns upgrading the icebreaker fleet and ice-class fleet, specifically, a Project 23620 icebreaker will be built to operate in the White Sea. Also, a decision was made to build a research and expedition vessel under the NES 126 project. The new vessel will ensure the operation of remote Russian Weather Service stations and environmental monitoring in the Arctic.

Another extensive section of the plan concerns the development of railway and road infrastructure including new access roads and bridges connected to the existing and new terminals of the Port of Arkhangelsk. Expected results include the modernized and higher-capacity Solombalka Railway Station (to be finished in 2024–2027), capital renovation of vehicular bridges across the Povrakulka and Solombalka rivers, and construction of a bridge across the Kuznechikha River. These bridge projects will be completed in 2026-2028.

Other scheduled measures include developing communications, digitalization, improving navigation safety in the waters around the Arkhangelsk Transport Hub, and developing the port’s workforce and research potential.