According to a high-ranking executive of the Norilsk Nickel company, the Affordable Rental Housing in the Far Eastern Federal District program should be extended to the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.
"In order to implement this program, we involved up to 4,000 employees, brought in from the mainland. We built a workers' town, then dismantled it. The Ministry for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic prepared the Affordable Rental Housing in the Far Eastern Federal District program, and of course for us, this program is an example for the Arctic zone. And it would be very good to extend rental housing to the Arctic zone, because this solves many issues in production segment," TASS quotes Andrei Grachev, vice president of Norilsk Nickel, as saying at the State Council commission on the Northern Sea Route and the Arctic.
The 11 regions of the Far East are already participating in the rental housing program. A reduced rental rate is provided for residents, a third of which is compensated by the federal budget, a third by the regional budget. Apartments in such buildings will be ready for occupancy. Grachev also noted that the creation of support cities in the Arctic presupposes, in addition to the availability of production facilities, high social and environmental standards, and infrastructure development. To solve environmental problems and reduce emissions, the company is implementing the Sulfur Program, and for infrastructure and raising social standards, a large-scale renovation program of Norilsk is being implemented with a total investment of 120 billion rubles until 2035.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
