ST. PETERSBURG, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 766 investment projects have been announced for implementation in the Russian Arctic region after the creation of a local economic preferences system, a senior Russian official said on Thursday.
Russia's strategy to support the development of the Arctic region, which has been implemented since 2020, has attracted 766 investment projects, said Gadzhimagomed Guseinov, the first deputy minister for the development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, at the plenary session of the 13th International Forum "Arctic: Today and the Future" held in St. Petersburg.
The total investment will reach 1.75 trillion rubles (about 19 billion U.S. dollars), and the projects are expected to create about 40,000 jobs, he said.
According to the Russian official, the mining industry ranks first in terms of investment, with 44 projects worth 862 billion rubles (9.3 billion dollars) under implementation, followed by the oil and gas chemical industry, with an investment of approximately 207 billion rubles (2.2 billion dollars) and 15 projects being implemented.
According to the organizers, more than 2,000 representatives from Russia and other countries will discuss solutions for the socio-economic development of the Arctic zone and work out tactical steps for their implementation at the two-day forum that kicked off on Thursday. ■