Russia’s Senate — the Federation Council, today hosted a working meeting to deliberate the comprehensive plan designed to develop the Arctic city of Norilsk.

The meeting was chaired by the Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko. She noted that the work to implement the development plan is being done ahead of schedule.

**Meeting on the implementation of the Comprehensive Development Plan for Norilsk**

The plan was approved by the Government on December 14, 2021. According to the plan, 120 billion roubles will be assigned for the development of Norilsk until 2035. Of that, 24 billion roubles will be allocated from the federal treasury, 14.8 billion roubles — from the consolidated budget of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and 81.3 billion roubles from Norilsk Nickel. The plan takes into account the recommendations contained in the resolution of the Federation Council “On socio-economic development of Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory” dated November 3, 2020.

“A lot has already been done, but we believe that this is the beginning of the journey,” said Valentina Matvienko. “I have absolute confidence that all participants of the process will approach it responsibly. I thank Norilsk Nickel for their serious approach and additional allocation of funds, apart from those provided for by the agreement, to create the most favourable conditions to make it a truly exemplary pilot project of one of the core cities of the Arctic zone”.

**Meeting participants at the exhibition called “Building the Norilsk of the Future”**

The development of Arctic cities should follow the principle of peering at the best, commented Alexei Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic. “This project is a serious example of a public-private partnership in which management approaches, urban, architectural and technical solutions will be implemented, tested and further extended to the entire Arctic zone of the Russian Federation” he added.

Nornickel President Vladimir Potanin said that Norilsk’s prosperous life is impossible without Nornickel’s development, and vice versa: the company’s ambitious plans can be delivered only in a prosperous city. “Our generation’s mission is to ensure Norilsk’s success, prosperity and sustainable development of production and the city. The company’s plans to enter the green economy are impossible without creating a modern comfortable environment in Norilsk. Nornickel’s investment programme for the next 10 years amounts to 2.5 trillion roubles. As for Norilsk, we had decided to allocate an additional 150 billion roubles to the previously approved 120 billion roubles for the city’s social and economic development. By 2023, the people of Norilsk and employees of the plant should be able to enjoy the development plans of the Krasnoyarsk Territory’s northern capital.”

Alexander Uss, governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, commented: “The Russian government has recently approved a comprehensive plan for the development of Norilsk until 2035. We are talking about the elimination of the environmental consequences of the accident, a radical change of approaches to industrial safety and, of course, the renovation of the city, which is the most difficult and long-term task. We have good reason to believe that within a year we shall see initial significant results and that within a few years Norilsk will look like a real capital of the Russian Arctic”.

According to Dmitry Karasev, Mayor of Norilsk, the comprehensive development plan in scope is similar to building another Norilsk factory from scratch. “I am very pleased that the plan is based on the input from Norilsk residents. A multitude of proposals were submitted. I can say with confidence that the comprehensive plan turned out to be a people’s plan. Today I have reported on the first results of the implementation of the comprehensive plan, which only became real thanks to the four-party agreements signed in February of this year. These agreements, in my opinion, are a real example of public-private partnership. We realize that without the comprehensive approach by Nornickel, without its support, the implementation of such an ambitious project would not have been possible,” he said.

Background info

Norilsk is the second biggest city in the Krasnoyarsk Territory after its capital Krasnoyarsk. It has a population of over 183,000 people (as of 1 January 2021). Its contribution to the territorial budget is as big as 30%.

The Comprehensive Plan for Socio-Economic Development of Norilsk, which was approved by a Russian government decree, defines measures intended to develop Norilsk. They include housing renovation, modernisation and overhaul of the city’s utilities and engineering infrastructure, construction, repair, reconstruction and development of social infrastructure facilities, new, comfortable and safe urban environment, and resettlement of citizens to areas with favourable living conditions.

Russia’s Senate deliberated Norilsk development plan