Acting Governor of the Nenets Autonomous Area Alexander Tsybulsky presented a draft proposal for a local core development zone at the 7th international forum, Arctic: Today and the Future.

This zone incorporates three priority infrastructure projects. The first project provides for building the deep-water ice-free port of Indiga, which could handle up to 30 million metric tons of cargo annually.

"Indiga Bay is the only ice-free bay in the Arctic with favorable seabed geography and the ability to accommodate 350,000 dwt vessels without icebreakers year-round," Tsybulsky said. The port is expected to include oil, coal and LNG terminals.

Core development zones are to become the main tool for the development of Russia's Arctic region. They will be implemented as a comprehensive project where the implementation of all industry provisions is interconnected at the planning, financing and implementation stages. The first pilot core zone projects will be implemented in 2018-2020 and will be effective between 2021 and 2025.

Plans for the core zone development include the construction of a railway line between Sosnogorsk and Indiga and the modernization of the Naryan-Mar and Amderma airports.  Alexander Tsybulsky also pointed out that the development of this core zone would require construction of three motorways.

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