On the west coast of Kola Bay, construction of the Lavna sea trade port resumed after a year’s interruption. The main task of the new terminal will be coal handling. The original plan to export 18 million tonnes of coal a year from Lavna to the west from 2022 onwards, once the port was completed, had stalled after EU states declared to renounce the reliance on fossil fuels.
The Governor of the Murmansk Region, Andrey Chibis, together with representatives of the companies involved in the construction, presented the current status on site. According to the Murmansk Region government, up to 1,000 people will be employed on site during the main construction phase. The planned staffing level of the port itself is 665 persons.
“Work has started as part of the roadmap updated by the state government. This is not the only port on the west coast – we expect the start of construction of the terminal “Tuloma” for the transshipment of mineral fertilizers soon. And the port of “Lavna” itself is now working on an appropriate master plan to become a universal port, not just a coal port. The Murmansk transport hub is taking specific shape,” the governor commented.
Andrey Chibis also said that a contract is currently being prepared for the completion of the design documentation for MTU’s rail infrastructure. The works on the construction of the railway line Wychodnoj-Lavna should be completed in 2023 simultaneously with the port.
Governor Andrey Chibis noted that 141 projects are currently being implemented in the region with the creation of nearly 25,000 jobs and investments of more than 658 billion rubles ($9 billion). This includes a port of transshipment for containers.
“First of all, these projects are new jobs for us. And I would like to emphasize to you here again that they are created first and foremost for our residents. And for this we need to realign our education system to train personnel for our investment projects, because this is personnel for our economy,” said Andrey Chibis.
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal
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