The renovation of Tiksi Airport on the shore of the Laptev Sea in the Arctic will begin in 2017, said Colonel General Viktor Bondarev, commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

"The Temp Airfield in the Arctic is good even for the Il-76 strategic airlifter, and we're working to improve Nagurskaya Airfield so that Il-76 planes will be able to land there. The design stage at Tiksi Airport is almost over, and construction will begin in 2017. We can't make any mistakes because the project is very expensive and being built on permafrost," General Bondarev said as quoted by RIA Novosti.

According to Bondarev, construction materials for building or renovating Arctic airfields are mostly delivered by sea during the short summer navigation period.

"By 2020, 44 airfields will be renovated by Spetsstroy (the Federal Agency for Special Construction) and by airfield construction squadrons," Bondarev said.

He added that in 2015 renovation projects were completed at three military townships, 12 airfields and 15 buildings that will house equipment for the training of aviation personnel.