Government approves selection mechanism for Arctic investment projects to support infrastructure development
© RIA Novosti. Dmitriy Astakhov

Government approves selection mechanism for Arctic investment projects to support infrastructure development

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed an instruction on how to select investment projects to be implemented in the Arctic zone as part of government support for efforts to create the needed infrastructure.

The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic has drafted a document enabling the government to support business people whose investment projects have been selected in accordance with the procedures which are already in place. They will be able to request a subsidy of up to 20 percent of the announced private investment for the creation of infrastructure facilities needed to implement these projects.

"The ministry will soon announce a contest to select infrastructure support projects in the Arctic. This is one of the first instruments the ministry has drafted for the Arctic zone, which is coming into force. The aim of it is to help implement investment projects that will make the greatest contribution to the Russian Arctic's development," said Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic Alexander Kozlov.

He added that the main selection criteria were a focus on socioeconomic development and capability to create new jobs. Apart from that, the ministry takes into consideration the overall amount of investment in a project, which should be no less than 300 million rubles and the need to create or modernize surrounding infrastructure facilities. Investors will also be required to have previous experience in implementing investment projects, register their companies in the Russian Arctic zone, be debt free, and be immune to bankruptcy or reorganization.

Powers to consider and coordinate the list of selected investment projects have been conferred on the Presidium of the State Commission for the Development of the Arctic.

"Using this mechanism is a response to a key challenge to economic activities in the Arctic. I mean the low supply of infrastructure. A similar mechanism has proved efficient in the Russian Far East. Investors, whose projects could not be implemented on account of infrastructure restraints, now have the funds for the construction of roads, power plants, electricity lines and other facilities. The projects have been launched owing to the infrastructure subsidy and new jobs have been created," Deputy Minister Alexander Krutikov said.