Today, Governor Andrei Chibis launched the Day of the Murmansk Region at the International Exhibition and Forum "Russia" at VDNKh in Moscow. The head of the region told the guests about what the Murmansk Region is famous for and proud of. He emphasized why the region remains the flagship of the development of the Arctic zone of Russia.

"A distinctive feature of the Kola Arctic is a strong and developing economy. Over 4 years, the investment growth rate is 116%. This, by the way, is the second place in the Northwestern Federal District. The gross regional product has grown by 2.5 times, in total, investments in the Kola Arctic amounted to almost a trillion rubles," the head of the region said.

The Murmansk Region remains the absolute leader in the number of residents of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation. Together with the residents of the advanced development territory "Capital of the Arctic", there are now more than 220 of them, and 4.5 thousand jobs have already been created. These are both small enterprises and large projects that are important for all of Russia.

"The Murmansk Region is a territory for the development of large-scale projects. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made all the decisions on gasification of the region, and we have already started implementing them. The plans of the Center for the Construction of Large-Ton Marine Structures, Murmansk LNG, and NOVATEK include building an LNG plant with a capacity of 20 million tons per year. We recently launched the Murmansk Transport Hub,” said Andrey Chibis.

This year, agreements were signed on processing lithium in the Kolmozerskoye and Polmostundrovskoye deposits; more than half of Russia’s lithium reserves are concentrated in the Kola Arctic.

“The region’s resource base is large; we have more than 60 large deposits. The resource potential of the Murmansk Region for various minerals is far from exhausted,” said Andrey Chibis.

The Murmansk Region is the gateway to the Northern Sea Route, Russia’s main shipping artery. The distance from the European part of Russia to the East is almost twice as short along it.

The base of the nuclear icebreaker fleet of Russia is all the nuclear icebreakers of the country, which have a home port in Murmansk and ensure year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route.

Murmansk is in the TOP-5 ports of Russia in terms of cargo turnover. It is the only port in the Arctic with an increase in this indicator. Cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route in 2023 increased by 3.2% and amounted to 53 million tons.

In addition to national projects, the Murmansk Region has a strategic plan "Living in the North" aimed at developing the region. It was created on the basis of more than 500 thousand proposals from residents of the region. The governor emphasized that this is the ideology and philosophy of the Murmansk Region government team. Thanks to the implementation of the plan, the region is becoming comfortable and attractive for living, including for specialists from other regions of our country who come to the Far North to live and work.

He noted that tourists love the Murmansk Region for its unique nature, delicious Arctic cuisine and attractions. Last year, the tourist flow to us was 540 thousand guests, an increase of 25%. And this rate is maintained annually, our ambitious plan is a million tourists a year. The Murmansk Region is an accessible Arctic, it is only a two-hour flight from Moscow. Therefore, among the Arctic regions, the Kola Polar Region is the most popular route from all corners of Russia.

"We set this goal for 2030. In four years, we have managed to reduce the flow of those leaving by a third. According to data for the first 9 months of this year, for the first time since the 90s, 800 more people came to live and work in the Murmansk Region than left the region. This is our common victory! "I very much hope and expect that thanks to the support of President Vladimir Putin, the active work of our industrial partners, and the workforce that creates Russia's wealth, we will be able to maintain this trend and make the Murmansk Region, as well as the Russian Arctic and the entire country, even more attractive and powerful," Andrey Chibis emphasized.

At the opening of the Murmansk Region Day, the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East, Alexey Chekunkov, noted that the region has a special mission in the Arctic related to the development of the nuclear icebreaker fleet, port facilities, shipping along the Northern Sea Route, and northern fisheries:

"Today, large-scale industrial and infrastructure projects have already taken place in the Murmansk Region, aimed at strengthening the position of our country, which is consistently increasing its presence in the Arctic. The region is a leader in attracting investment, tourist flow, the number of land plots issued under the Arctic Hectare program, and small and medium businesses are actively developing here. The priority tasks of state policy are the effective use of this potential and the creation of competitive conditions for the implementation of new creative projects in various industries and spheres."

Let us recall that the International Exhibition and Forum "Russia" opened on November 4, National Unity Day, and will run until April 12, 2024, at VDNKh in Moscow. It showcases the country's most important achievements in various sectors of the economy. The expositions represent all 89 Russian regions.