Influence of the Ports of the Northern Sea Route on the Formation of Focal Zones for the Development of the Eastern Arctic

The authors consider propulsive potential of the ports of the eastern section of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and indicate the influence of the NSR on increasing the efficiency of the key zones formation for the development of the Far Eastern Arctic. They base the work methodology on the theory of cumulative growth, in which the ideas of the “growth poles” formation occupy a decisive position. The authors use the grouping methods, logical and comparative analysis. The Rosstat data serves as an information base of the study. It is shown that the state’s activity on the development of the NSR stimulates the development of the North Yakutsk and Chukotka support zones, enhancing the transport and raw materials specialization of the Eastern Arctic as a whole. At the same time, the authorities proceed from the assumption that the development of ports should reduce the costs of trade, increase employment, and have a multiplier effect both on the port system itself and on the sectors of the region interacting with it. The paper substantiates that in the Far Eastern Arctic, the traditional view of ports as the most important infrastructure assets, which are the business and economic center of territorial development, is insufficient for the recognition of transport infrastructure as a propulsion industry. The propulsive effect of the port economy is low and is mainly of an induced nature, when capacities for processing products are created in the port areas, or when the transport infrastructure stimulates the emergence of transport-intensive extractive industries, which is provided in the western part of the NSR. For the development of the North Yakutsk and Chukotka Arctic support zones, the transport infrastructure will be a backbone project that “connects” these regions in an economically sustainable spatial formation — the Far Eastern Arctic. Transport is a necessary but insufficient condition for the emergence and accelerated development of local “growth poles” in the Eastern Arctic.