Vasily Orlov reported to the President on the growth of investment and the GRP. He said that last year the industrial production index was 105 percent. In addition to the four large federal projects ‒ the BAM-2, the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Gazprom’s gas-processing plant, and the Sibur petrochemical complex, the region is implementing another 58 investment projects worth a total of 432 billion rubles.
The region leads the Far East in the number of projects with 403 projects worth a total of 25 billion rubles carried out in the public-private partnership format. Last year, the region signed another concession agreement for rebuilding Blagoveshchensk Airport. A modern terminal will be completed by 2024. The cost of the project is 8 billion rubles.
Despite the floods, agriculture did very well last year. The gross yield on all crops was excellent. The region produced 1,175,000 tonnes of soya, its main crop. Next year, it plans to turn out 1,350,000 tonnes of soya. This is possible because of the agriculture support programme for farms. Federal funds are allocated via the Ministry of Agriculture, in part, for the purchase of equipment. Last year, 5.5 billion rubles worth of equipment was purchased. Another 270 units will be purchased this year. Ninety percent of equipment is of Russian make. In addition, agricultural producers that receive these subsidies were supposed to increase the share of high-reproduction seed, the amount of fertiliser used and to practice crop rotation. This definitely improved the crop yield.
Last year, a new poultry farm and a dairy farm were put into operation. This year, the region plans to open another three dairy farms with 7,000 head.
Replying to the President’s question on flood forecasts, Mr Orlov explained how they are protecting the coastline, building a dam and determining vulnerable flood areas.
Gas infrastructure development was also discussed at the meeting. The region endorsed a plan for a first stage, up to 2025, when 12 percent of households will be supplied with gas directly. The second stage provides for the use of LNG in a number of remote localities that do not have gas mains. Gazprom is building LNG capacity at its gas plant, and the Governor believes increased LNG availability will provide good impetus for using gas in transport.
Mr Orlov told the President about the implementation of the 11 national projects. All indicators have been achieved with the exception of one in healthcare, notably, average life span. This is, of course, due to the coronavirus. Therefore, the region’s doctors are now focusing on the treatment of their COVID patients, on their recovery.
The region is spending more money on major repairs and on the construction of new medical facilities. In 2019, these funds amounted to 200 million rubles whereas the allocations for 2021 topped 2 billion rubles.
The Governor addressed the President with a request regarding the Trans-Siberian Railway. In the Amur Region, the railway cuts several cities and other residential areas in half, for historical reasons. The Governor believes overpasses are needed in many locations because people sometimes sit for hours waiting at crossing barriers. Rail traffic is very heavy on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and intervals between trains is sometimes only seven minutes and will soon go down to four minutes.
In this context, the Governor spoke about the region’s proposal to build five overpasses through a concession agreement. The project will cost about 11 million rubles. It is possible to start building the first overpass before the end of this year. The Governor asked the President to instruct the Government to allocate 900 million rubles for a capital grant – co-financing of capital expenses. The President suggested presenting the relevant documents.