The road project between the regional capitals of Syktyvkar and Naryan-Mar has won the support of the federal Ministry of Transport and is expected to be included in the federal budget for next year.
The needed 1.6 billion RUB can be spent on the project over the next two years, Senator for the Komi Republic, Yevgeny Samoylov, told RIA Novosti. The federal allocation comes after successful joint efforts and lobbying by the two regional governments, Dvinainform.ru reports.
Currently, the Nenets Autonomous Okrug has no road connection to the neighboring regions and all transport to and from Naryan-Mar goes either by plane or sea. The construction of the 386 km long Naryan-Mar-Usinsk road was started already in 1991 but soon halted as funding dried out. About 80 km of the road remains to be built.
The Nenets AO has big territories and a population of only 45 thousand. There are small road connections between Naryan-Mar and the regional key sites like Indiga and Amderma, as well as a connection between the Kanin Peninsula and the town of Mezen (Arkhangelsk Oblast).