At the beginning of the meeting, the President said that under the governorship of Alexei Dyumin, the Tula Region has shown good development results: the GRP has been growing, and the figures for industrial production, agriculture and investment are above the country’s average. At the same time, Vladimir Putin noted that environmental protection issues require special attention given the high concentration of industrial facilities in the region. He also suggested discussing the issues related to healthcare staffing and the relocation of people from dilapidated housing.
Alexei Dyumin told the President that a centre to recruit medical personnel was built last year; individual work is underway with applicants, and regional support measures are available, in particular, in the form of additional benefits. The region has built service housing for personnel – 186 flats in apartment blocks, with 170 of these flats already accommodating medical personnel; after 10 years of work, they will become the owners of the flats. A project is being implemented to build a suburban housing community for doctors with an academic degree and over 15 years of work experience. This programme is popular and will continue. Since 2020, the level of medical personnel staffing has increased by almost 11 percent in the region.
As for dilapidated housing, Alexei Dyumin reported that as part of the second stage of the federal programme, 2,500 out of approximately 5,000 residents of dilapidated buildings have been relocated to new houses. The programme will be completed in 2023. Since 2019, the Tula Region has also been implementing a regional relocation programme, which covers an additional 1,300 people; 1,000 of them have already received new housing. The Governor noted that after the current programme is completed, work will continue in this area, and that he hoped for further interaction with the Government and for the President’s personal support. Overall, the region saw over 800,000 square metres of housing built last year, which is a record for the past few decades.
Speaking about the environment, Alexei Dyumin said that last year they launched an automated air quality monitoring system to identify deviations and violations and immediately take measures to rectify them. Forty major companies working in the region have prepared environmental investment programmes, and three municipal solid waste disposal facilities will be created by 2024.
Overall, the Governor said that the region had demonstrated positive dynamics for the main macroeconomic indicators. Regional revenues amounted to 98.7 billion rubles in 2021, which is over 18 percent more than the year before. Investment has increased by 25 percent to 180 billion rubles. Industrial deliveries for the first time exceeded 1 trillion rubles.
The operations of backbone and other enterprises are monitored on a daily basis. Newly identified risks are promptly dealt with, including by the regional import substitution centre, which was established within days of the adoption of sanctions. Alexei Dyumin also said that 50 billion rubles worth of contracts were signed with the Tula Region during this year’s St Petersburg International Economic Forum, including with companies that are engaged, in part, in import substitution.
He also reported on progress in agriculture, which increased production by one-third over the past three years, and on the labour market, where the situation is closely monitored. The Governor noted that the unemployment level was low at 0.44 percent. In other words, the number of jobless persons is not growing. There are 29,000 vacancies in the region’s job bank, and there are only 3,500 people registered as unemployed. Few enterprises release workers, while other companies need personnel.
The President pointed out in this context that the region reported a high industrial production growth rate of over 7 percent.
Alexei Dyumin also updated the President on the region’s humanitarian mission. Working to fulfil the tasks set by the country’s military-political leadership, the Tula Region has signed an agreement with the Donetsk People’s Republic, and a lead crew with the necessary funds and equipment is already working in Mariupol. The main facilities to be repaired before the heating season starts – residential buildings, schools, a kindergarten and other facilities – have been identified, and the construction bloc is already working on them.