The first Arctic hub in Russia is Sabetta International Airport. It is located near the settlement of the same name in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The air transport hub is of strategic importance for the development of the oil and gas industry in the region.
Location
Sabetta shift camp is located in close proximity to the airport. The air harbor is located on the eastern coast of the Yamal Peninsula, near the Gulf of Ob, belonging to the Kara Sea.
Infrastructure of the Yamal region
The Yamal region is quite difficult for the development and development of minerals. This is due not only to the harsh climate, but also to the underdevelopment of infrastructure. One of the key tasks of the Yamal LNG project is to solve this problem.
The nearest air transport hub near the village of Sabetta used to be Bovanenkovo airport. It was opened by the end of 2012 and is wholly owned by Gazprom. The nearest railway station "Karskaya" is located at the same distance from the village. Therefore, the problem of transportinfrastructure seriously hampered the development of the South Tambeyskoye field.
Sabetta Airport (Yamal): construction
The construction of an air transport hub near the village of Sabetta was a large-scale project of Yamal LNG. This project provides for the construction of the transport infrastructure of the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye field, which is one of the largest in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District in terms of natural gas reserves. It also houses a plant that produces liquefied natural gas. Work on the construction of transport infrastructure began in 2012, when the construction of the Sabetta airport began. In the same year, the construction of the seaport began. The port is intended for navigation throughout the year along the Northern Sea Route. In the future, the Russian icebreaker fleet will be localized here.
The operator of the Arctic “air gates” is Sabetta International Airport Limited Liability Company, which, in turn, is owned by Yamal LNG, which is implementing the project to develop the Yuzhno-Tambeyskoye field. Among Yamal LNG shareholders:
- Independent Russian company Novatek (holds 60% of shares).
- French oil and gas company Total (20% share).
- China National Petroleum Corporation CNPC (20% stake).
The total investment in the implementation of the Yamal CIS project, according to preliminary estimates, amounted to about 27 billion dollars. Annual natural gas production reaches 30billion cubic meters. Gas is exported mainly in liquefied form. The estimated volume of raw materials reserves is about 492 billion cubic meters, and other liquid hydrocarbons - 14 million tons.
The construction of the Arctic hub involved the use of the latest technologies for the construction of structures on permafrost flooded soils. The project for the construction of a two-story building of the airport complex was published at the end of 2013 on the Novatek Internet portal. At the beginning of 2014, the Yamal LNG company reported that, according to preliminary estimates, the volume of investments in the construction of the air transport hub amounted to 150 million rubles.
The project for the construction of the complex involved two stages of work. The first included the construction of a service and passenger terminal located on an area of 36 × 42 m. The second included the construction of an international terminal on an area of 36 × 36.5 m and a building for a control tower. Thus, both terminals should be located on an area of 36 × 78.5 m. Initially, the opening of the first Arctic airport was planned for June 2015.
The project of the airfield complex included the construction of a runway, hangars for aircraft. The runway was completed by December 2014.
In July 2015, the airport management received a certificate of conformity for the operation of the airport. Also, the air hub was entered in the state register. On October 5 of the same year, the Interstate Aviation Committee officially recognized the suitability of the airport for receiving andsending international flights. And on December 24, a checkpoint across the state border was opened.
Sabetta Airport Opening
Despite the fact that the opening of the hub was scheduled for 2015, the first flight was accepted in 2014. On December 22, the first plane arrived in the village of Sabetta. It was a Boeing 737 of the domestic carrier UTair. The flight was mainly technical in nature. Acceptance of aircraft and servicing of passenger flights began on February 2, 2015. For international flights, the airport opened on July 29 of the same year. The reason for this was the order of the Russian government, as well as the installation of a cargo-passenger checkpoint across the state border. The first international flight took place on the night of March 4, 2016, which was operated along the Beijing - Sabetta - Moscow route. The aircraft arrived from the Chinese capital and delivered four passengers to Sabetta (Yamal region), after which it left for Moscow.
Runway Characteristics
Sabetta Airport has a runway made of reinforced concrete, which fully complies with the requirements of the first category of ICAO. The strip is 2704m long and 46m wide.
Aircraft types accepted
The Arctic hub can receive and send the following types of airliners:
- "IL-76".
- "Airbus A-320".
- "Boeing 737-300".
- "Boeing767-200".
It is also capable of handling aircraft with lighter takeoff weights and all types of helicopters.
Airlines, flights
Currently, Sabetta Airport serves regular rotational passenger flights operated by domestic companies UTair and Yamal.
UTair operates flights from Sabetta to Moscow (Vnukovo airport), Novy Urengoy and Samara. The Yamal air carrier operates flights to Moscow (Domodedovo Airport) and Novy Urengoy.
Thus, the Sabetta Arctic Airport is of great strategic national importance. It was built as part of the Yamal LNG project, designed to improve the transport infrastructure of the South Tambeyskoye natural gas field. The construction of the hub began almost from scratch in 2012 and was completed by the end of 2014. VV Putin notes that the financing of the project is carried out at the expense of private and public funds. A. Martirosov, Director General of UTair Airlines, believes that the opening of the airport will increase the level of transport accessibility of the Yamal Peninsula and will become an impetus for the development of the north-west of Siberia. The village of Sabetta has actually become the largest international air transport hub in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
