Cooperation in the Arctic Region - Logistics and Accessibility Elena Svatkova, Director, AvtoDor Consulting Ltd. Final seminar “Kolarctic connection – better than ever” Rovaniemi,

THE FACT: The Arctic Region is a periphery, which means: economic activities demand more efforts and costs, logistic costs are higher when production process and access to external markets (up to 50% of prices on goods and services to compare with maximal 12% in the Central Europe) It means: Competitiveness of our periphery economies at the global market is lower with related negative effects (social services, employment, salaries, etc.) = deterioration of life quality

Conclusion 1: The more remote location of a region from markets, the higher logistic costs and lower competitiveness To be competitive we have to think more of logistics, be more innovative and leading in logistic technologies to compensate costs caused with remoteness and climate Tools: optimization of logistic costs, pilots to test logistic innovations, know-how transfer

Has Kolarctic ENPI Programme contributed into better logistics? THE FACT: Good logistic = balanced assets (light + heavy) N1 Light assets: information, professional competences, logistics know-how and technologies, services N2 Heavy assets: rolling stock, terminals, transport infrastructures Availability of light assets investment attractiveness + decreased investment risks = opportunities to attract investments to create heavy assets

Kolarctic Programme made contribution into logistic asset developing with the projects: 1.Barents Low Volume Road Management (through better road maintenance) LA 2.Barents Freeway (through an integrated strategy of developing all the transport modes) LA + pilots 3.Safer Roads for Users (through the road sector clustering) LA +pilots 4.Barents Logistics 2 (through better professional competence) LA 5.Reconstruction of the road Kandalaksha – Alakurtti – Salla (through improving road performances) HA

Conclusion 2: The Programme contributed into better logistics in Arctic Region with the stress to develop light logistic assets Disseminating the results is critical activity to develop heavy assets (to ensure sustainability of logistic chains and decrease logistic costs)

Example: What can we do to decrease logistic costs of the forest cluster? Forest (1?) transportation of wood (2?) wood processing (3?) transportation of remains to processing (4?) pulp&paper production (5?) transportation of pulp to processing (6?) processing of pulp into tissue products (7?) transportation of tissue products to consumers (8?) Totally 8 areas to look for logistic solutions (4 industrial, 4 transport) Every participant is motivated in final success (= cooperation = clustering)

Is it possible to decrease logistics costs with own efforts of a separated industry? Logistic improving is a result of a dialog between a cluster – user and the transport cluster – provider of transport infrastructure services

Conclusion 4: New logistic solutions to improve effectiveness, efficiency of economies and accessibility of the Arctic Region demand for COOPERATION of transport (a cluster-provider) and clusters of trans- border activities (cluster-users: tourism, forest, fishery, agriculture, etc.) Development of the “inter-cluster” cooperation is a challenging task for the next programme period in order to contribute into better competitiveness and life quality