Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed his government to submit proposals to build a rail link to the country's northwest Barents Sea coast as Moscow strives to develop the Arctic .
Putin has made Russia's northern Arctic region a strategic priority, and ordered massive investments in military infrastructure and mining.
Read alsoPutin-Biden: how to avoid war in Ukraine
The Russian president has asked Prime Minister Mikhail Michoustin to "
submit proposals for the creation of a rail link to the Barents Sea
", the Kremlin said.
The deadline for submitting proposals is May 10.
The Indiga base as a point of arrival
The end point of the railway is expected to be the Indiga base in the Arctic region of Nenets, where Russia hopes to start building a year-round port in the next few years.
In 2018, Finland and Norway said they would jointly explore the construction of an Arctic rail link between northern Finland and the Barents Sea coast.
Read alsoVladimir Putin's disturbing Ukrainian obsession
The development of the Northern Sea Route is closely linked to Russia's push into the Arctic, and Moscow has invested large sums in a fleet of icebreakers and tankers for this.
