Arctic City of Murmansk Plans the Building of Futuristic City Quarters

To stop the dramatic out-migration from the region, the Russian Arctic city of Murmansk is planning the building of futuristic city quarters on the western shores of the Kola Bay. Over the past 30 years, the regional population has shrunk from more than 1,1 million people to less than 800,000. And the negative trend has not come to a halt, governor Andrey Chibis told Russian President Putin during his recent visit. Although there was a building boom during the early 20th century's arms races, Murmansk's population has been in a slow reversal since the Cold War, from 468,039  in 1989 to an estimated 299,148 in 2014.

Skyscrapers and Hotels

Cibis showed Putin sketches showing skyscrapers, five-star hotels, a large congress centre and more than forty large housing complexes. The governor underlined that this would provide the region with a new impetus for growth, including for the economy. The new part of the city is projected to be built in Abram-Mys, an area on the western side of the Kola Bay, the Barentz Observer, an independent Norwegian news site, reports.

Arctic Bridge

Murmansk is a major port on the Arctic Ocean in the far northwest part of Russia. It is set to be the Russian terminus of the Arctic Bridge, a sea route linking it to the Canadian port of Churchill, Manitoba. Even though the passage has not been fully tested for commercial shipping yet, Russian interest in this project, along with the Northwest Passage, is substantial, as the bridge will serve as a major trade route between North America, Europe and Asia. The city is 108 kilometres from the border with Norway and 182 kilometres from the Finnish border.

Subarctic Climate

Murmansk features a subarctic climate with long and cold winters and short, cool summers. In the city, freezing temperatures are routinely experienced from October to May. Average temperatures exceed 0 degrees Celsius only from May through October. The average low during the coldest part of the year in Murmansk is approximately −14 °C (7 °F). However, temperatures routinely plunge below −20 °C (−4 °F) during the winter.