Karelia wants stake in Arctic shipping
The construction of a new deep-water port with an annual 15 million tons capacity is under planning in the Republic of Karelia. The port will enable the republic to become an important stakeholder in Arctic shipping of coal and containers, regional authorities argue.
Regional Minister of Economic Development Mikhail Yurinov said to journalists today that he has high hopes for construction start in last half of 2009, RIA Novosti reports. He wants the port to be included in the Northern Maritime Corridor project, a Russian-Norwegian-EU project on shipping between western Europe and Northwest Russian ports. With the new port, the Republic of Karelia could become a major competitor for Murmansk, which also has major plans for port development. Minister Yurinov said two mooring points for the handling of coal from the cities of Inta and Vorkuta will be the first priorities. Later, several more additional mooring points are planned developed. Investments are estimated to 9.5 billion RUB, 2.5 billion of which will be allocated by the federal Ministry of Transport. The new port is planned constructed at the site of the former fish port of Belomorsk. The waters in the area will have to be deepened to 12,5 to 14 meters.
