February 15, 2002

In Moscow yesterday, Premier Gary Doer and Sergey Kacherov, deputy governor of the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia, signed a letter of intent to pursue further research and development of polar air routes.

"We have known for a long time that polar air routes offer shorter, more direct flights between North America and Asia," Doer said. "The time is coming when the reduced flying time and lower costs for fuel, maintenance and operations will make these a feasible alternative for passenger and cargo carriers. Over the next few years, the cities of Winnipeg and Krasnoyarsk can be positioned as hubs for polar air transportation."

Several factors that impact polar route market development and promotion have changed recently, Doer noted, including the opening of northern air routes over Russia and China, improved air navigation technologies and development of long-range aircraft.

Recent studies show that air cargo costs between Asia and North America have increased an average of 15 per cent a year since 1998. In October 2000, NAV Canada and the Russian Federal Aviation Authority released a study that concluded polar air routes are a viable option in today’s economy.

Last year, government and industry partners from Manitoba and Russia conducted a followup study to look at economic, technical and regulatory considerations. Completed last fall, that study showed a potential cost saving of over 20 per cent using the polar route from Winnipeg via Krasnoyarsk to Delhi, India. In addition, a five per cent cost saving was indicated using the polar route from Winnipeg via Bratsk, Siberia, to Singapore.

"Manitoba shares many similarities with the Krasnoyarsk region such as the importance of natural resources and the energy sector to the economy, the importance of transportation to access key markets and our efforts toward establishing excellence in the knowledge sector, sciences and engineering," Doer said. "We look forward to working with Krasnoyarsk on this unique development opportunity."

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