In 2024, as part of testing the single-operator system for Northern Supply, the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic conducted a pilot planning for cargo delivery to the Arctic regions of our country. While in March this year, about 1,500 containers and railcars were behind schedule, by early December this number had decreased to just two. In early December, the delivery plan was 99% complete. Gadzhimagomed Huseynov, First Deputy Minister of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, spoke about this at the plenary session of the Strategic Session 'Northern Supply: Reliable, Fast, Affordable.'

This is one of the first successes following the creation of a unified system for monitoring cargo delivery to the North, which began in 2023 alongside the adoption of the law 'On Northern Supply.' Today, the law covers more than 50% of the country's territory, 2.15 mn people and 2,300 settlements. Every year, 3.5 to 4 mn tons of cargo, mainly essential goods, need to be delivered to the Polar Region. This includes fuel, food, medicine and more. 

Today, the core infrastructure includes 346 facilities, among which are 149 highways, 129 railway stations, 15 river ports, 21 seaports, 15 airports and 17 rivers. The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic acts as the single coordinator of the Northern Supply, and Rosatom State Corporation serves as the single maritime operator.

In 2024, the first tests of the system took place, which both demonstrated successes and revealed bottlenecks that will require further refinement. The strategic session brought together supply participants from different aspects of the project to define the scope of future tasks. The main one is to monitor the needs of the regions. As Gadzhimagomed Huseynov emphasised, the law was created primarily for the people. This means that it represents a living entity that will be fine-tuned for maximum efficiency. Even the register of regions included in the programme may be subject to changes—Kamchatka Territory is requesting to include its entire territory in the delivery zone, while the Republic of Karelia, Tyumen Region and Nenets Autonomous Area have asked to be excluded from the list.

It is also proposed to give regions the ability to make changes to the list of category 1 goods, to allow regional authorities to regulate the final prices of goods, to expand the possibility of ordering construction materials for key investment projects and much more. It is expected that on average it will be possible to reduce the cost of goods for the end consumer by 20% and increase the speed of delivery by 25%. Nikolay Kharitonov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for the Development of the Far East and Arctic, noted at the plenary session that the expected effect of the full-scale launch of the unified Northern Supply system is the establishment of prices in the Arctic regions at the level of central Russia.

Among the challenges, as usual, is the need to modernise infrastructure. According to Anatoly Shirokov, Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Federal Structure, Regional Policy, Local Government and Northern Affairs, the existing supporting infrastructure is currently worn out by almost 80%. In the future, it is planned to be transferred to federal jurisdiction, which will allow for modernisation but will also create quite a few legal issues that have yet to be resolved.

There is also the question of delivering goods by river. The single maritime operator, Rosatom State Corporation, currently has no mechanism to hire companies for river transportation, and it has no fleet of its own. Meanwhile, in Yakutia, about 150 thousand tons of cargo need to be distributed along the rivers in just two months. In other regions, there are questions about the transhipment of goods from rail to sea vessels or the delivery of goods from ports by road. Next year, these issues will be addressed using Chukotka as an example, which acted as a pilot region for the implementation of supply by a single maritime operator.

Anatoly Shirokov also raised the issue of reverse northern supply, i.e. delivery of products produced in the Polar Region 'to the mainland,' as well as the responsibility of system participants for violating deadlines and possible breaches of delivery conditions within the framework of the northern supply. Cargo to the North must be delivered on time, and those who prevent this should be appropriately penalised.

The system will be fine-tuned extensively, over a long period, and with great attention to detail. At the session, plans were announced to create regular round tables to exchange experiences in the regions included in the programme, as well as the inclusion of an expert group led by Gadzhimagomed Huseynov in the project to fine-tune the legislative framework. They had previously participated in drafting the law itself. 'Our most important task is to structure the system so that people are provided with everything they need. Delivery of life-support cargo should be reliable, accessible and timely,' Gadzhimagomed Huseynov emphasised in his speech.

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