MOSCOW

The Russian government on Saturday decided to open for the entry of foreign vessels its port of Tiksi, located on the coast of the Laptev Sea in the northern part of the arctic region of Sakha or Yakutia.

"The decision will create conditions for the launch of an investment project for the construction of a deep-water hub port near the village of Naiba," said a decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on the government's website.

The Cabinet believes the port could handle some 30 million tons of cargo per year.

The government also expects implementation of the project could spur the creation of new transshipment capacities, new workplaces, and the development of not only the port itself, but also the Northern Sea Route, "which is especially important in the conditions of external sanctions pressure," said the decree.