#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The anniversary 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) has started in St. Petersburg. This year it is held under the motto New World – New Opportunities. The business program is dedicated to the global and Russian economy, technology and social issues.
The Nornickel’s vice president for federal and regional programs Andrey Grachev spoke at the Arctic section Shaping the Architectural Identity of the Northern Cities:
The situation is changing very quickly. The government and authorities make decisions faster. And in fact, this reactive response to business needs is good news. In particular, the state has introduced such preferences for environmental requirements. Integrated environmental permits and an environmental efficiency improvement program were postponed for two years. Should business relax in these conditions? Of course not. Nevertheless, it is pleasant that the state reacts so quickly to the changing situation and to the business needs which are typical of today’s life.
Andrey Grachev cited a comprehensive plan for the Norilsk’s renovation until 2035 as the successful adaptation to the harsh Arctic conditions’ example. He recalled that the quadripartite agreement on the social and economic polar city’s development involves investments by the Nornickel Company in the amount of 81.3 billion rubles out of a total investment of almost 120 billion.
The Norilsk Development Agency’s director Maxim Mironov spoke about the Arctic tourism development:
We are talking about the systemic tourism development. That is why we made a master plan for the Arctic tourism cluster which tells investors, users, and tour operators where to go. And the most important is that the Arctic nature’s conservation’s direction has been worked out. At the same time, we are intensively engaged in training our tour operators, classifying accommodation places, preparing guides, conductors, helping small and medium-sized businesses in obtaining grants, in participating in various financing programs. Investments in this area grow by 30-40 percent every year.
According to Maxim Mironov, the tourist flow to Taimyr is growing every year: three years ago the peninsula was visited by four thousand tourists, last year their number exceeded nine thousand.
Earlier we told that the Nornickel signed two key agreements with Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources.
Follow us on Telegram, VKontakte.
Text: Ekaterina Elkanova. Photo: the Nornickel's press service
