The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources has announced a tender for a state order on clean-up of areas on Svalbard where there has been Russian activity, RIA Novosti reports.
The € 4.6 million (RUB 185.6 million) contract includes removal of sunken objects that can be of harm for navigation, removal of polluting waste materials, oil waste and scrap metal. The work should be done in the period 2011-2013.
This is not the first place in the Arctic where Russia has started to clean up remains after years of activity. In September 2010 the Ministry of Natural Resources announced a similar tender for removal of polluting waste materials from Franz Josef Land, as BarentsObserver reported.
Russia is planning to increase its presence on Svalbard and is now preparing a strategy that should be ready within the next couple of weeks. The country is also planning to build a research center for monitoring of the environment in the Arctic.
There are some 400 Russians living on Svalbard, which has a total population of approximately 2700. Most of the Russians are employed in the state company Arktikugol’s coal mines.
