Regional development 103–2

The Company makes a significant contribution to the development of local communities by implementing a range of social programmes that address current and potential future issues.

The Company's contribution to the development of local communities

The Group's operations as a backbone of local economies 203–2

The Company’s key regions of operation in Russia include the cities of Norilsk and Monchegorsk, the Taimyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky Municipal District of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Pechengsky District of the Murmansk Region, the Tazovsky District of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area, and the Gazimuro-Zavodsky District of the Trans-Baikal Territory. Saratov hosts Nornickel’s Shared Services Centre. In the Tver Region, the Company is engaged in the construction of housing for its employees under My Home and Our Home programmes.

Spending on social, charitable and social infrastructure programmes, RUB mln 203–1

Budget payments

Tax and non-tax payments⁶⁷ to local, regional and federal BUDGETS, RUB BN

Changes in the tax and non-tax payments for 2018 were due to the higher income tax (on the back of increased revenue) and property tax (as a result of growing CAPEX), as well as the planned payroll budget increase.

Employment of local population

Cooperation development

As part of its social and economic partnership agreements signed in 2009 and 2016, the Company has been cultivating cooperation with the companies of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Murmansk Region. Integration of local businesses into the Group’s production chain (mainly through long-term contracts) makes a sizeable contribution to the development of the regions of operation, particularly by supporting small and medium-sized businesses.

Cooperation development in figures

Podsolnukh store chain

The Podsolnukh store chain, a part of Norilsk Nickel Group, takes its fair share of the retail market in the Norilsk Industrial District with nine stores, including one hypermarket. The SKU range of the chain includes socially significant goods (vegetables, fruit, cereals, dairy products, meat, canned foods, eggs, sugar, etc.) that are offered at substantially lower prices than in other regional stores. The average retail prices in the Podsolnukh store chain grew notably slower than the official inflation rate.

Infrastructure development

The Company is actively involved in the development and renovation of social infrastructure, looking to create accessible and comfortable environments for working and living in the regions. Nornickel sponsors improvement of public areas, supports construction and renovation of sports facilities, transport infrastructure and housing, and promotes development of educational infrastructure. While delivering these initiatives, the Company is committed to creating a barrier-free environment for individuals with mobility impairments, including physically challenged and elderly people, pregnant women, etc.

The Company's expenses on social infrastructure development projects totalled RUB 3.6 bn in 2018.

Key social infrastructure development projects in 2018

Development of local communities

Charitable programmes

Since 2014, the Company has been implementing World of New Opportunities, a charitable programme to encourage and promote sustainable development of local communities. The programme is designed to develop soft skills in local communities, demonstrate and introduce new social technologies, support and promote public initiatives, and encourage cross-sector partnerships.

In 2018, after the commissioning of Bystrinsky GOK in the Trans-Baikal Territory, the World of New Opportunities geography expanded to cover the Gazimuro-Zavodsky District, which now hosts Nornickel's Socially Responsible Initiatives Competition, Arctic.PRO R&D marathon and School of Urban Competencies.

Partnership, Innovations and Development are three focus areas of the World of New Opportunities programme.

Partnership focuses on supporting volunteer initiatives of local activists, fostering new skills and developing local expertise.

Its key initiatives comprise:

• workshops on social design, expert review and assessment of projects/programmes, creative thinking, and social engineering;
• a socially responsible initiatives competition;
• School of Urban Competencies for schoolchildren;
• We Are the City! social technologies forum;
• School of Urban Event Managers for local activists;
• We Are the City! PicNick urban event.

In spring 2018, the Company took the lead in organising We Are the City!, a social technologies forum held in Norilsk (Krasnoyarsk Territory) and Monchegorsk (Murmansk Region) to bring together local communities and tell them about new trends and best practices in charity and volunteering, and also share successes in solving social issues. In the lead-up to the forum, locals got a chance to meet a wide range of experts who shared their ideas on upbringing children, finding your own way in life, personal development, etc. The forum venues were attended by a total of 1,500 people.

One of the forum topics was good neighbourly relations. A month later, the Hello Neighbour! festival was held at two Norilsk locations simultaneously: at 27 Talnakhskaya Street and by the municipal Public Library. The festival provided an opportunity for the neighbours to get to know each other and establish councils in multi-family residential buildings, and promoted good neighbourly practices and relations. The festival locations got a new look for this day. Decorated with balloons and flags, they featured photo and art zones, board and team game sections and many more.

The Company seeks to broaden local knowledge and skills contributing to the formation of a local expert community. Nornickel organises a three-day annual social engineering workshop for local activists that combines theoretical and practical aspects of generating and implementing ideas. During a three-day workshop in 2018, some 150 participants developed and implemented 16 city initiatives in Norilsk, Dudinka, Chita and Gazimuro-Zavodsky District.

On Company Day, Nornickel traditionally staged the We Are the City! PicNick event in Norilsk, Monchegorsk and Zapolyarny. PicNick is a festival for a good cause organised by local activists and participants of the World of New Opportunities programme (winners of the Socially Responsible Initiatives Competition and socially minded entrepreneurs) and the Plant of Goodness corporate volunteer programme. It ran as a street festival with a project fair, workshops, training sessions, etc. For the first time, PicNick was held in Chita on Miner's Day.

School for Urban Event Managers has become a regular event organised by the Company in the Murmansk Region. The project aims to train urban activist teams in arranging and managing large-scale thematic festivals. After the School finished, Monchegorsk hosted Imandrа Water Fest dedicated to water sports and Imandrа Viking Fest featuring the Nordic culture, while Nickel became home to Nord Craft Fest, a festival of arts and crafts. The three festivals were attended by more than 8,800 local residents.

Organizationally, the School is an annual series of events aimed at selecting and motivating high school volunteers and training them to be leaders responsible for the implementation of social projects in their school neighbourhoods.

One of the competition winners was the Second School Centre located in the settlement of Nickel. It is a social space for local residents to organise their social and cultural initiatives, enjoy time together and communicate. In 2018, the Centre hosted 176 broad-ranging events attended by more than 4,000 people.

Among large-scale local and regional events staged at the Centre, there were the Nordic Character: Green Screen international festival, Russian North gastronomic festival, and Hold the Balance! literature and sports festival.

The Centre also hosted two art residence events, Polar Day in summer and Polar Night in winter, attended by 13 artists from across Russia and abroad. The artists created objets d’art and artistic works and organised exhibitions, theatrical productions and installations, which can be seen in the streets of Nickel.

In association with the Committee of Civil Initiatives of the Kudrin Fund, Nornickel runs the School of Urban Competencies, a comprehensive programme for schoolchildren of northern one-company towns to learn the functioning of modern industrial clusters and improve local communities.

Students of the School of Urban Competencies learn how municipalities are organised and function, and master social engineering skills. In 2018, 8 school teams received RUB 100,000 grants to deliver social projects. The students volunteer regularly in large-scale events arranged by Nornickel (Our City festival for children's social initiatives, We Are the City! social technologies forum, Arctic Wave festival of R&D discoveries, charitable events, etc.).

Another focus area, Innovations, centres around the implementation of advanced technologies, R&D potential and innovations in engineering. Its target audience are schoolchildren, university students and adult activists interested in science and frontier technologies.

Its key initiatives comprise:

• Arctic.PRO R&D marathon;
• FabLab R&D creativity laboratories;
• Science 0+ festival in Krasnoyarsk and Murmansk;
• I Make young inventors competition.

For the fifth year in a row, the Company hosted the Arctic.PRO R&D marathon aiming to encourage R&D creativity, innovations in engineering and thirst for knowledge among children and young people. 1,600 students aged 12 to 15 took part in the marathon in 2018. 25 shortlisted marathon participants attended the Winter R&D School in Yekaterinburg.

FabLab R&D creativity laboratories in Norilsk and Monchegorsk featured training courses and workshops attended by more than 3,500 people. At present, the laboratories have over 100 permanent tenants.

For the fourth year running, the Company was a general partner of the All-Russian Science Festival held by Lomonosov Moscow State University. Traditionally hosted by Krasnoyarsk, the festival was attended by more than 30,000 people. For the first time, Murmansk was chosen to be a regional venue of the festival. In Murmansk, the two-day event was attended by 3,500 people. Sites for the festival were prepared by 50 different organisations (educational institutions, R&D and innovative companies of the Murmansk Region).

In 2018, the Company launched I Make, a competition for young inventors. Schoolchildren from the cities of the Company's operations sent their inventions to take part in the contest. Of the 103 bids received by the organisers, six best projects were selected to compete at the International Young Inventors Award in Indonesia.

Nornickel's delegation won three gold medals for the Donator charity box (by Aleksander Babushkin from Chita), a two-circuit CO₂-based household refrigerator (by Gleb Kharchenko from Nickel), and a toothbrush disinfection device (by Denis Tselikov and Anna Ryaskina from Monchegorsk). Three silver medals were received for a magnetic levitation soap box (by Gleb Voronov from Dudinka), an automatic glass cleaning system for spectacles (by Yunus Salmanov and Emilbek Sattarov from Norilsk), and a universal sower (by Vyacheslav Astaviev from the Gazimuro-Zavodsky District).

The third focus area, Development, targets active citizens and SMEs with the goal of addressing local communities' social issues with the benefit of business processes.

Its key initiatives comprise:

• Social Entrepreneurship training course;
• Convention of Social Entrepreneurs from the North.

The Social Entrepreneurship training course delivered by the Company helped trainees to develop business plans and present them at the investment session. Experienced trainers (active businessmen) assisted participants with classes and homework. After the course was completed, its graduates submitted 24 business projects, with five of them financed by the Company with interest-free business loans to a total of RUB 24.78 mln.

Nornickel is sponsoring a number of projects, including Bely Medvezhonok baby swimming club and Gorizont country recreational centre in Norilsk, Polyarnaya Noch hostel in Zapolyarny, MimiMotik family leisure centre and Mortimer English Club-franchised language school in Nickel. Each of them will open its doors to visitors in the near future.

Three business projects were launched by the graduates of the Social Entrepreneurship course without the Company’s support.

In 2018, Nickel hosted the second Convention of Social Entrepreneurs from the North attended by 150 active and aspiring social entrepreneurs. Attendees and experts discussed trends, prospects and measures to support social entrepreneurship in the polar regions and analysed relevant national and international best practices. In the run-up to the event, experts and attendees from other regions took part in a quest to learn more about social entrepreneurship in the Pechengsky District.

The World of New Opportunities programme had the following social impact:

• local communities became the driving forces of social activity and change;
• more young people were involved in community affairs;
• new services emerged in education, culture, physical activity and sports, and so did new forms of recreation for both children and adults;
• strong partnerships were established;
• a pool of local social engineering and project assessment experts was formed;
• travel grants were established for community leaders to participate in regional and national conferences and forums and grow professionally;
• social technologies.

Targeted charitable support

The Company continued providing targeted charitable donations in response to special requests from organisations. In 2014, Polar Division and Kola MMC set up dedicated charity committees to review such requests. Certain donations are also approved by the Company's management. The Company supports entities dealing with vulnerable groups of population (veterans of World War II, disabled people, multi-child families, children with special needs, financially disadvantaged citizens) and finances the participation of local non-profit organisations and institutions in various sports competitions, creativity contests, etc.

Vocational training sponsorship

Every year Polar Division provides financial support to Norilsk's institutions of secondary and higher vocational education by buying books and specialised equipment for students, contributing to the maintenance works, and thus improving the quality of training. The Company primarily focuses on the training of specialists for the most in-demand jobs.

Corporate volunteer programme

Volunteering is a vital part of the Company's corporate culture as it unites employees based on shared values and helps identifying and developing employee competencies that are essential for the purposes of sustainable development, particularly mobility, responsibility and leadership.

In 2018, about 400 initiatives were carried out in Moscow, Norilsk, the Kola Peninsula, and Chita as part of the Plant of Goodness corporate volunteer programme. Volunteers participate in environmental activities, such as clean-up campaigns, master classes and other training events, hospital clowning, charitable runs, performances and fairs. In addition, the Company launched an employee personal donation programme that collected nearly RUB 4.3 mln in 2018.

In 2018, Andrey Urgant presented his volunteer play entitled Travel Notes about Nornickel Volunteers. Income from ticket sales was donated to the House with Tail animal shelter in Monchegorsk and the Giving Hope charity foundation helping stray animals. Leading roles were played by the volunteers who participated in Let’s Do It, Nornickel’s environmental marathon.

Started as a local movement in Monchegorsk in 2015, the Let's Do It environmental marathon transformed into a large year-round event uniting thousands of employees, local volunteers and concerned citizens from across the regions where the Company operates. As part of the marathon, the Company organises clean-up days, shoreline garbage collection initiatives, bush and tree planting, support of natural reserves, and eco-friendly lifestyle workshops.

The Plant of Goodness programme won prizes at several prominent Russian and international competitions, receiving acclaims from the expert community.

• Plant of Goodness corporate volunteer team (SMM project) — winner of the RUNET Award for Volunteering in Russia.
• My Volunteer Story environmental marathon — winner of the Champions of Goodness contest for the Most Comprehensive Project.
• Plant of Goodness programme — winner of the HR Brand Award in the Big Heart category.
• Let’s Do It environmental marathon — winner of the Eco Culture. Peace and Conciliation international contest for Environmental Culture in Industry and Power Sectors.
• Best environmental volunteer team (Let’s Do It environmental marathon) — winner of the Vernadsky National Environmental Award for its active role in the Year of Volunteers and contribution to environmental protection.
• Team of environmental volunteers from Nickel's Smelting Shop — winner of the Silver Chipmunk preservation volunteer competition.

Corporate volunteer programme: 2018 highlights

Norilsk Development Agency⁷⁰

Activities of the Norilsk Development Agency are yet another example of how the regional social policy is implemented and how the government and businesses collaborate in social impact areas.

The Agency’s mission is to lay the foundation for accelerated development of the city's service economy as a way of improving Norilsk's living standards and promoting local products and services on external markets. The Norilsk Development Agency is a long-term partnership project of Nornickel, Norilsk municipal authorities and Vladimir Potanin Foundation.

The Agency's key focus areas are as follows:

• Business (Norilsk as a city of developed service economy);
• Development (Norilsk as a city of modern selling spaces);
• Tourism (Norilsk as a city attractive for tourists);
• Social and Cultural Projects (Norilsk as a city of rich social and cultural life).

In 2018, the Agency carried out a total of 21 projects and 35 initiatives that involved 46,470 people. The Norilsk Development Agency is a partner to more than 100 organisations.

Among its 2018 achievements were a spatial development concept for the city of Norilsk, a website for the Ready-Made Business and Franchising Centre, and a survey entitled the City Resident's Social Portrait. The Agency also developed the first-ever municipal programmes for the promotion of tourism in Norilsk and the Taimyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky Municipal District in 2019–2025.

The plans for 2019 are to launch an SME Business Navigator website, organise training courses for entrepreneurs, develop a sketch design of the Arctic Museum of Contemporary Art, establish a vocational training infrastructure for the tourism industry personnel, assist in the establishment of tourist information centres, etc.

Support for sports projects

As an active supporter of sports, Nornickel sponsors major Russian and international sports organisations and provides financing for the upgrade of sports facilities, construction of sports schools and playgrounds.

Support of sports organisations and competitions

29th International Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk
(2–12 March 2019)

For many years, MMC Norilsk Nickel has provided extensive support to the international university sports movement. Since 2015, Nornickel has been a general partner to the 2019 International Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk.

According to current estimates, the Company will spend over RUB 2.1 bn to organise and hold the 2019 Winter Universiade.

In 2018, several large projects were implemented by the Company in the run-up to the 2019 Winter Universiade in Krasnoyarsk:

• a large-scale upgrade of the Bobrovy Log Fun Park, including a comprehensive renovation of its secutrity systems;
• establishment of a landscaped park along the Bazaikha River in Krasnoyarsk;
• sponsorship of training courses for mid- and top-level managers and volunteers involved in the preparation for the Winter Universiade;
• promotion of the 2019 Winter Universiade in the media.

As the General Partner of the 2019 Winter Universiade, Nornickel supported an extensive promotion campaign to inform the public about the event.

In 2018, three planes of NordStar Airlines bearing the Universiade symbols made 2,927 flights. During the flights, over 385,000 passengers were informed in detail about this huge sports event.

At the Company’s initiative, a thematic metro train dedicated to the 2019 Krasnoyarsk Winter Universiade was launched in Moscow. It featured quick facts on the history and facilities of the winter university games and sports included in the Universiade’s programme.

In cooperation with MALFA, Maksim Fadeev’s record label, Nornickel organised a social media contest to select singers for the 2019 Winter Universiade official song. More than 10,000 professional and amateur singers from across Russia participated in the contest.

The 2019 Winter Universiade torch relay started several months before the opening of the games and was another landmark initiative supported by Nornickel. It lasted 164 days and covered 30 Russian cities.

One year before the 2019 Winter Universiade, the Company launched the FOLLOW UP SIBERIA global cross-cultural programme supported by Euronews TV channel. Winners of the online creativity contest were given a unique opportunity to visit the cities of Siberia and the 2019 Winter Universiade.

Nornickel supported a spectacular light show arranged a year before the start of the 2019 Winter Universiade.

International University Sports Federation

As a partner of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) that manages university games, Nornickel supports the international university sports movement. The Company sponsored the FISU Volunteer Leaders Academy international forum held in June 2018. The event brought together leaders of the volunteer movement from more than 120 FISU member states, representatives of sports delegations and university sports officials.

Russian Olympic Committee

As a partner of the Russian Olympic Committee, Nornickel supports the Russian Olympic team training activities, finances youth and high performance sports, and facilitates Olympic educational programmes developed by the Russian International Olympic University.

Another area of cooperation between the Company and the Russian Olympic Committee is the inclusion of Nornickel’s regions of operation in the pan-Russian Olympic Patrol project. In 2018, the Olympic Patrol visited Krasnoyarsk and Norilsk, giving young athletes a chance to meet their renowned peers who shared their personal Olympic experiences, took part in autograph and photo sessions, and held workshops and fitness tests.

The Company sponsored the Russian Youth Olympic team, which delivered a strong performance at the 3rd Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires.

We also helped organise the 29th National Olympic Day, a sports festival hosted by 80 cities across Russia to promote fitness, sports and a healthy lifestyle.

Football Union of Russia and Russia’s national football team

Nornickel is an official partner of the Football Union of Russia and Russia’s national football team. The Football Union of Russia and Nornickel organised Nornickel Cup — New Hopes, an inter-regional tournament that brought together youth teams from the Krasnoyarsk and Trans-Baikal Territories and the Murmansk Region.

Ice Hockey Federation of Russia

At the end of 2018, Nornickel signed a partnership agreement with the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. The key area of cooperation is the development of the Red Machine national programme for comprehensive hockey training and the coaching of the Russian national hockey teams for the 24th Olympic Games to be held in Beijing (China) in 2022. Another important area of partnership will be social and sports programmes in the cities where Nornickel’s production assets are located.

CSKA professional basketball club

Nornickel continues supporting Russia’s most decorated basketball club. In 2018, CSKA took part in the EuroLeague Final Four and won the VTB United League.

In 2018, workshops traditionally organised by the club were transformed into a tournament for sports schools. The first CSKA junior basketball tournaments were held in Norilsk and Krasnoyarsk. Winning teams were offered tours to the CSKA junior camp in Moscow and workshops from the club’s players.

Russian Federation of DanceSport and Acrobatic Rock’n’Roll

Since 2018, Nornickel has been supporting the Russian Federation of DanceSport and Acrobatic Rock’n’Roll in developing and promoting these sports. As part of the partnership, the Company helped to set up a corporate acrobatic rock’n’roll club in Norilsk. Athletes of the club made their successful debut in the Russian national competitions. In recognition of Nornickel’s contribution to dancesport and acrobatic rock-and-roll, the Company received the national Exercise Award 2018 as the Patron of the Year.

WCT Arctic Curling Cup international competition

Starting from 2017, Nornickel supports WCT Arctic Curling Cup, the world’s northernmost curling tournament in Dudinka (Krasnoyarsk Territory). In 2018, the tournament was held on 24–27 May. Ten teams from Switzerland, Canada, Scotland, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Russia competed for the Arctic Cup.

Rosgonki and Sochi Autodrom

In 2018, the Company partnered with Rosgonki and Sochi Autodrom to support and promote motor racing in Russia. Rosgonki is an autonomous non-profit organisation and an official organiser of the prestigious Formula One circuit race in Russia.

Support for cultural projects

Cultural projects are an integral part of the Company’s general strategy to improve the quality of life across the regions of operation. Consistent efforts in this area are integrated into the World of New Opportunities programme, activities of the Norilsk Development Agency and other initiatives.

The Follow up Siberia! project was short-listed by the Eventiada IPRA Golden World Awards, the largest communications award in Eastern Europe. This cross-cultural initiative was launched by Nornickel in the run-up to the 29th International Winter Universiade 2019 in Krasnoyarsk.

Along with holding corporate events and competitions attracting tens of thousands of employees and their families each year, the Company also supports prominent all-Russian cultural projects. In 2018, such projects were:

• Follow up Siberia! international cross-cultural initiative in support of the 29th International Winter Universiade 2019;
• Golden Mask festival, the main annual theatrical event in Russia, held in Chita for the first time. The Zabaikalsky Regional Drama Theatre hosted famous directors, scriptwriters, theatre and cinema stars. The festival programme also included workshops;
• Dancing Sky pan-Russian dancing competition (Norilsk);
• Intermuseum 2018 international festival (Moscow);
• Nordic Character: Green Screen international environmental and social cinema festival (Nickel, the Murmansk Region);
• Living Classics young readers competition;
• а series of meetings with prominent art professionals from Europe, the USA and Russia as part of the Culture Unlimited. Dialogues with Present-Day Cultural Leaders programme (Moscow);
• 3rd Taburetka International Literature Festival (Monchegorsk, the Murmansk Region);
• Centres for Social Innovation in Culture, a competition aimed at finding and promoting successful social and cultural models (Russia);
• Museum for Everyone!, a pan-Russian inclusive initiative aimed at creating a comfortable museum environment for each visitor. This is the second large-scale event arranged as part of the Inclusive Museum project (Russian cities);
• Museum 4.0 Competition to support national museums (Russia);
• Museum Leaders professional development programme as part of the Museum. Power of the Place initiative. The event was attended by 30 representatives from 16 Russian cities (Moscow).

In 2018, Andrey Urgant presented his Travel Notes about Nornickel Volunteers, a unique play featuring volunteers as leading actors. The play became a link between the Year of Volunteers and the Year of Theatre in Russia.

Assessment of social programmes

103–2 103–3
The Company has a comprehensive assessment system for social programmes and projects in place. The key criterion used to select social projects for implementation is their social impact, i.e. effects they have on various aspects of life and society. The social impact is assessed throughout the lifecycle of the programme or project implemented and upon their completion. Assessment tools vary from targeted stakeholder surveys and opinion studies to actual performance indicators, including those set out in the programme specifications or social and economic cooperation agreements.

Nornickel’s strong social and environmental commitment involves a framework of social programmes and benefits going far beyond the minimal statutory programmes required by law. When developing and implementing its social policy, the Company carries out the following:

• assessment of social climate in teams through designated meetings on social and labour issues;
• annual employee engagement surveys;
• annual polls among social programme participants (health resort treatment, children’s vacation, corporate gifts programmes, cultural, entertainment and sports events);
• quarterly surveys and annual assessment of My Home/Our Home and Corporate Subsidised Loan housing programmes;
• regular performance assessment of the World of New Opportunities charitable programme;
• performance assessment of the social projects financed with the Company's grants (at the financing decision stage, during the monitoring and implementation).

The Company also makes a monthly report on the social climate in the regions of its operations and participates in competitions to have its initiatives independently assessed and publicly recognised.

Public-private partnerships are assessed at different management levels to support optimal sustainability decisions in the regions where the Company operates.

Assessment of public-private partnership projects

With its reliable state-of-the-art transport infrastructure, Nornickel is capable of meeting any freight logistics challenges and ensures continuity and sustainability of operations and well-being of local communities.

The Company's dry cargo fleet provides year-round freight shipping services between Dudinka, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Rotterdam, and Hamburg sea ports while also covering other destinations.

The Yenisey tanker is used to transport gas condensate from the Pelyatkinskoye Gas Condensate Deposit to European ports and other destinations.

Dry cargo transported by the Company's fleet amounted to 1.4 mt in 2018, up 7.7% year-on-year. Transportations by the Yenisey tanker rose to 222 kt, a 37.2% increase year-on-year.

The Company and other companies of the Group handle cargo in the ports of Dudinka, Murmansk, Lesosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk.

Dudinka Port (Polar Transport Division) is the world’s only port flooded every year during spring high water and accessible by both sea and river vessels. Its cargo turnover in 2018 increased 9.3% year-on-year.

Bystrinsky Transport Division is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the 227 km Naryn (Borzya) — Gazimursky Zavod railway line (Trans-Baikal Territory).

Yenisey River Shipping Company transports socially important cargoes to destinations across the Krasnoyarsk Territory. During the short period of spring floods, it delivers fuels and lubricants, food and other goods to locations with limited transport accessibility on the Podkamennaya and Nizhnyaya Tunguska rivers and in other areas, including Dikson, Russia’s northernmost settlement. The shipping company operates its own search and rescue fleet and takes part in emergency response missions on internal water routes of the Yenisey Basin.

Murmansk Transport Division is responsible for local shipments in the lower reaches of Yenisey, to the north of Dudinka Port. Dudinka Port receives foods and delivers socially important cargoes for local residents, including indigenous peoples of the North, ships cargoes for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry and transports residents of remote coastal areas.

Destinations covered by NordStar Airlines include more than 30 Russian and CIS cities. With passenger traffic in excess of 1 million people per year, NordStar operates year-round direct flights from Norilsk to over 10 destinations in Russia and annually reaffirms its status of Russia’s major air carrier. In 2018, the air carrier transported 1.44 million passengers. It offers regular and charter flights and transports passengers to interregional budget subsidised destinations, with tickets sold at reduced tariffs.

Norilsk Avia is the only air operator capable of responding to both industrial and social emergencies in the region (the Norilsk Industrial District and the Taimyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky Municipal District). The Company meets regional demand for passenger and commercial traffic, including emergency ambulance flights as part of search and rescue operations spanning up to 280 km from Norilsk Airport. According to regulations, emergency flights are a mandatory condition for all air transportation services in the region, including long-haul flights.

In 2018, the third construction season, the upgrade of Norilsk (Alykel) Airport's runway was finally completed. Today, the runway meets the latest flight safety requirements. It was reconstructed while the airport continued its operations, which had never been done before either in Russia or abroad.