Russia aims to develop Arctic sea route

Moscow, Oct 26 (IANS) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has ordered the government to "systematically" develop the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in the Arctic.Given the limited capacity of other routes, the NSR, as the shortest sea route between the European, Western part of Russia and the Russian Far East, is playing a growing role in the Russian economy, Novak said at a government meeting on the development of the icy shipping line, Xinhua news agency reported.He asked relevant departments to monitor the ice situation along the NSR by using satellites and cooperating with international partners on cargo shipments.Cargo turnover through the NSR is expected to reach 33.8 million tons in 2022, a representative of Russia's state-run Rosatom, the operator of nuclear-powered icebreakers, said at the meeting.
--IANS int/sha

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