Critical tendencies of the transport infrastructure development in the Russian Arctic

Russia Abstract . In the article, the authors discussed the formation of a single transport system in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The development of the Arctic transport system, i.e., the Northern Sea Route, adjacent airport network, seaports, water, and land communications, determined the relevance and significance of the study. It is especially important since they are the strategic priorities of Russia's Arctic policy. The study aimed to identify the trends in transport infrastructure development in the Russian Arctic. So, the authors focused on the factors determining its specifics. They conclude that the transport infrastructure of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is underdeveloped and needs technical improvement. According to the authors, a unified Arctic transport system is possible only after the restoration of year-round navigation through the NSR, its technological growth, and the reconstruction of the adjoining transport


Introduction
At present, the Arctic vector is one of the most important in Russia's home politics, as the Arctic rich in natural resources will be the guarantor of sustainable development and national security of our country in the 21 st century. Thus, the Strategy for the Development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF) contains a priority of national interest defined: "the use of the Arctic zone as a strategic resource base that provides the solution of problems of social and economic development of the country". The large-scale development of Arctic resources is closely linked with the need to create a unified Arctic transport system and improving its infrastructure.
The development of new and modernization of existing transport communications will not only give impetus to the development of natural resources but will also contribute to improving the local population's living standard, the solution of many social problems, and it also will create preconditions for the development of transit traffic along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and will significantly expand product distribution system in the northern areas of the country.

The specificity of transport in the Arctic
Transportation plays a crucial role in all spheres of social and economic activities in the Arctic and is one of the most strategic sectors of the economy. The share of transport in the total volume of gross regional product in the Russian Arctic remained consistently high over the years. At the end of 2017, it was 8.2% (average for Russia -8%). From the local perspective, the consistently high (over 10%) proportion of transport performance in GRP is typical for old industrial territories in the western sector of the Arctic -the Republic of Karelia, the Murmansk Oblast and the Arkhangelsk Oblast. The number of employed in all types of transport in the Russian Arctic is more than 40 thousand people or 9.5% of total employment in the economy (the average for Russia -7.3%). In the entirely Arctic territories, this figure is even higher (11.8%), and in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, transport occupied 14.2% of total employment. Along with mining, the carrier holds a principal place in the value of fixed assets: the share of the transport sector in the total value of fixed assets in the Russian Arctic is 31.1% (average for Russia -22.5%).
However, the transport sector of the Russian Arctic operates under the influence of a set of interrelated hard-to-regulate factors. Some of them stimulate its development (e.g., defensive purposes), while the others considerably complicate the situation and create significant risks and limitations. Natural extremeness, peripheral nature and extent of the Arctic territories, settlement features, the direction and character of historical territorial and economic ties, and so forth [1, Korchak E.A. .; 2, Zaikov K.S., Kondratov N.A., Kudryashova E.V., Lipina S.A., Chistobaev A.I., p. 10; 3, Chizhkov Yu.V., p. 27] seriously complicate and increase the cost of a single Arctic transport system, increase the transport discrimination of the population, leading to deterioration of infrastructure and technical state vehicles and impose some restrictions on the use of various means of transport. E.g., the river (an inland waterway) transport navigation is limited to a short period (2-4 months), and the construction and operation of land-based modes of transport (roads and railways) are tight in the permafrost and the harsh weather conditions in the winter. Especially relevant are these problems for sparsely populated and remote areas of the eastern Arctic. The absence of land transport links with the rest of the country causes a multi-tier and single alternative transport service schemes.
The most important factor affecting the operation of the Russian Arctic transport is also changing. Recent observations have shown that the Arctic is warming faster over the last three decades than the rest of the world. The sea ice area has reduced by 10-15% and snow on land have decreased by 10% [4,Kondratov N.A.,p. 70].
The uncertainty associated with warming has different effects. On the one hand, the warming threats and leads to an increase in temperature, a change of landscapes, degradation of permafrost, a higher number of icebergs, and increase storm (wave) activity, etc. In other words, it reduces the reliability and stability of the transport system and engineering structures [5, Voronina E.P., p. 63]. On the other hand, in the long-term perspective, climate change can contribute to more effective and full use of the Arctic economic potential, increase the availability of navigation, exploration, and mining on the Arctic shelf and new transport routes in the Arctic Ocean. Northern seas have become more available, and according to some projections, by 2050, they will be opened for year-round shipping [6, Smith L., Stephenson S.]. At the beginning of the 21 st century, this new resource, transport, and logistics capabilities made the Arctic one of the most debated issues in the world. The development of its transport infrastructure got prior importance in the Russian state Arctic policy.

Current situation and development trends of the Arctic transport infrastructure
The transport infrastructure development in Arctic Russia is considered in connection to two unequal territories. The western sector formed quite an extensive system of roads and railways permanently connected to overland transport communications throughout the country and Arctic seaports. In the eastern sector, year-round surface transportation routes with access to a nationwide network are not available. Only small dead-end railway lines and roads of lower categories (winter roads) are constructed. Due to the lack of developed land communications in the eastern sector, the connection is provided through the Northern Sea Route, air and inland (river) transport. During the Soviet period, cargo transportation along the NSR had a significant annual growth due to the exploitation of natural resources in the Russian Arctic ( Fig. 1). After the transition to a market economy, navigation along the NSR stopped. Traffic volumes declined rapidly and reached only 1.25 million tons by the end of the 1990s. Only two decades after, in 2016, the volume of transported goods crossed the mark of 1980 or 7.26 million tons (energy resources: coal, oil, LNG, and metals). By 2018, the cargo delivery along the NSR increased by almost three times and was 20.2 million tons. According to forecasts, delivery along the NSR will increase, and by 2024 it will exceed 80 million tons.
The construction of the world's largest Arctic port of Sabetta on Yamal contributed significantly to the development of the delivery along the NSR Investments in the project amounted to about 108 billion rubles, more than 70 billion rubles came from the federal budget.
Construction started in 2012 was a part of the "Yamal LNG" project. It is still ongoing, but the port is now operating. It is necessary to clarify that, legally, the NSR begins in the Kara Sea and However, now, in the Russian Arctic airport infrastructure is slowly recovering, the new aircraft had been developed and designed for polar-based operation, and the airpark is gradually renewing. E.g., on Yamal, in 2017, an airstrip in Chokurdakh airport was opened, aircraft were updated, and their number was expanded, and some more specialized equipment for the county airport was purchased. Local budget subsidized air transport of passengers in 4 inter-regional and Yamal, due to the closure of some railway sections, the railway network decreased (Table. 1). The basis of rail transport in the Russian Arctic make transportation of goods (   Their length increased by 1.5 times (Table. 2), and their share in national road networks decreased from 8.2% in 2000 to 6.9% in 2018. In contrast to the railroad, automobile transport in the Russian Arctic is dominated by passenger traffic: its share in the total road transportation is more than 70%. The analysis of the dynamics of freight and passenger road transport shows a significant reduction in 2000-2018 in the Russian Arctic: passenger delivery fell by 2.3 times freight -2.4 times (Fig. 3 (Table 3). The analysis showed despite the positive trends, and the Russian Arctic still has a deficient security level of land communication routes. In this case, more than 50% of the Russian Arctic terrestrial transport communications do not meet the regulatory requirements (in the Arkhangelsk Oblast and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, these figures exceed 80% of regional roads and 90% for local).

Conclusion
Overall, the analysis of the current transport infrastructure in the Russian Arctic confirms the existence of severe imbalances in its development. Despite the favorable trends in all forms of transport, the Arctic transport system is characterized by underdevelopment and poor technical condition of the transport network, run-out equipment and a variety of other problems. In our opinion, it is possible to think about an integrated Arctic transport system only after recovery of year-round navigation along the NSR, its technological equipment, and reconstruction of the related transport infrastructure. New forms of transport, safe and efficient use of which is possible in severe arctic conditions, should also take a special place in the Russian Arctic transport system development. Due to the scale and the high capital intensity of these problems, public-private partnership mechanisms should play a central role in the formation of a unified Arctic transport system development.