The road between the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Komi Republic has been under construction since 1991. After a number of construction stops, a total of 83 km now remains to be built between the two neighboring regions. The road will be the only land-based piece of infrastructure between the Nenets AO and the surrounding world.
According to acting Nenets governor Igor Koshin, the federal government has been requested by the president to come up with the necessary eight billion roubles for the road project. The government will have to find the finances before the end of September 2014, a press release from the Nenets regional government reads.
In the background of the decision lures Rosneft and its powerful president Igor Sechin. As previously reported, Rosneft has signalled its interest in the development of the Pechora LNG project and will be in great need for additional infrastructure developments in the area. According to newspaper Kommersant, the new road will give Rosneft access also to the Komi railway hub of Usinsk, thus enabling the company to bring in valuable project construction materials.
