VTB Bank anticipates that total cargo traffic via the Northern Sea Route (NSR) could reach 400 mln tons within a decade. This is what the Atomnaya Energiya 2.0 portal reports.

As noted by the bank, of this volume, 200 mln tons will be provided by Russian enterprises' cargo traffic alone, with another 200 mln tons coming from transit cargo transportation. Last year, cargo flow through it was 36 mln tons, and this year it is expected to increase to 80 mln tons.

"The Northern Sea Route provides access to the natural resources of the Arctic and Siberia, where more than 8% of the world's oil and 20% of natural gas are currently being extracted. According to our estimates, the territories along the transport corridor will be actively developed over the next 10 years, and new Russian enterprises formed along it will bring more than 20 trillion rubles to the Russian budget by 2035," says Valery Lukyanenko, Deputy President and Chairman of the Management Board of VTB Bank.

According to VTB experts, if ice navigation costs are optimized, Russia could receive more than 1 trillion rubles in transit fees for the NSR by 2030.