Transportation and subsoil use: integration for the Arctic economic development in Russia

Abstract

The issues of the Russian Arctic development are considered in the paper. The authors study the trends and factors in the formation of the Arctic transportation. The subsoil use is researched as an industry that stimulates the active development of the Arctic at the present stage. The analysis of the interdependence of the two sectors of the economy is carried out as well as the reasons for their integration are substantiated. The authors consider government incentives for investment in the Arctic. The article discusses the reasons why it is still not possible to use the resource potential of the Arctic to its full capacity. According to the authors, the transport infrastructure does not meet the needs of investment. They suppose that an obstacle to the further inclusion of the Russian Arctic in an active economic turnover is the delay in the construction of the infrastructure to support the Northern Sea Route: ports, icebreakers and rescue vessels. A breakthrough in transportation is required for further successful implementation of investment projects for the extraction of hydrocarbons and other minerals. Therefore, the development of the Arctic should be considered only in the context of the integration of subsoil use and transportation. In conclusion, the authors outline the main tasks that the state needs to solve for the Arctic policy implementation.