Russian authorities are planning to postpone the start of construction of the Northern Latitudinal Railway (NLR), a railway corridor in the Arctic, for three years, the cost of which is estimated at more than 800 billion rubles, a source told Kommersant. According to him, for this, the government will suspend the implementation of the concession agreement concluded between Roshydrom and LLC NLR (99.9% owned by Russian Railways) in 2018. The Cabinet of Ministers has already reported the decision to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the source noted. He added that the sources of financing for the project have not yet been determined, but the concession may be resumed after a pause.
The NLR is supposed to connect the Northern and Sverdlovsk railways, becoming a 700-km link from Salekhard to Nadym with a bridge across the Ob River. The concept of the project appeared in the USSR, then it was tried to implement in the 2000s, but unsuccessfully. The NLR should allow the creation of the infrastructure necessary for the development of gas-condensate and oil fields in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YNAO). Also, the new railway is necessary to ensure access to the Northern Sea Route through the port of Sabetta in Yamal. Previously, it was assumed that within the framework of the concession, the main sections of the NLR would be built in 2025–2031 (The Moscow Times).
