Development of Shipping Routes in Arctic will Cost More than 120 Billion US Dollars over Next Decade, Rosatom Head Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 31 – The development of the Trans-Arctic Transportation Corridor, which includes the Northern Sea Route, will cost more than 120 billion US dollars between now and 2026, according to Rosatom head Aleksey Likhachev, whose agency is in charge of this project.

            The Russian government can’t afford to spend that kind of money on this project and so will work to involve private Russian investors and international ones in order to complete the job, he suggested (expert.ru/transport/skolko-deneg-potratyat-na-razvitie-arkticheskogo-ledovogo-puti).

            What that means, although Likhachev did not say so, is that the completion of the project may depend on the ability of Russian firms and the willingness of international sources both governmental and private to make such investments, the possibility of which is far from clear given Russia’s economic problems and the international situation.

            Experts say that private firms domestic and foreign may be willing to invest in some aspects of the project but warn that unless the entire project as outlined by the Kremlin is completed, many of these investments may not yield the returns they expect. That may make it hard for Moscow to attract such investments until far more progress has been made.

            According to the Expert portal which interviewed Likhachev, Rosatom’s development plans have now been sent to the Russian government for consideration and approval. While they are likely to be given the go ahead, the ability of Moscow to fulfill Putin’s plans is very much in doubt, especially as the NSR is not now carrying anything like the amount of cargo he projected.