Belkomur railroad might end in Murmansk
The Belkomur railroad should end in Murmansk, not Arkhangelsk, a high ranking official in the Ministry of Transport believes.
Railroad Belkomur which is supposed to connect the Urals with the White Sea should go to the port of Murmansk, not to Arkhangelsk, says Deputy Minister of Transport Viktor Olersky, according to RIA Novosti.
He believes that an orientation towards Arkhangelsk can seriously “hamper the project”, since there are no guarantees that the plans for construction of a deep-sea harbor will be implemented:
- I have deep respect for Arkhangelsk Oblast’s wish to develop the region’s infrastructure, but we do not see any [future] deep-sea harbor there, Olersky said at a meeting in the State Duma’s Committee for Transport.
The plans for development of Murmansk, on the other hand, are included in a federal program and therefore more likely to be realized. A tender for projecting of Murmansk Transport Hub will be announced very shortly, according to Olersky.
Belkomur is a huge project which includes a railroad connecting Arkhangelsk with Komi and Perm. This will shorten the way between Siberia and the White Sea ports by 800 kilometers and open new efficient ways for cargo flows from the Urals and Siberian industrial zones to Europe.
