Medvedev: Northern Sea Route to handle over 24 million metric tons of freight in 2019
© RIA Novosti. Ekaterina Shtukina

Medvedev: Northern Sea Route to handle over 24 million metric tons of freight in 2019

The Northern Sea Route might handle over 24 million metric tons of freight by late 2019, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told members of the State Commission for Arctic Development in Sabetta.

Interfax quotes Medvedev as saying: "Last year, the Northern Sea Route handled over ten million metric tons of freight. Current freight traffic volumes have nearly doubled, reaching 18 million metric tons. According to experts, over 24 million metric tons of freight will be delivered via this route next year."

"This is quite a good pace. Nevertheless, we need to achieve an ambitious goal and expand the Northern Sea Route's freight turnover to 80 million metric tons by 2024," Medvedev added.

Earlier, Maxim Kulinko in charge of Rosatom State Nuclear Corporation's Directorate for Developing the Northern Sea Route and Coastal Territories estimated that in 2019 the volume of freight traffic would hit 29 million metric tons.