Valentin Konovalov reported that the Republic demonstrates reasonably good socioeconomic performance, with the economy growing in a number of indicators since 2017 including the region’s gross regional product, industrial output, investment, and wages. Khakassia has been working on expanding the non-resource sector as per the objective set by the President. In 2020, it drafted a new socioeconomic development strategy until 2030 and has been offering additional support to the processing sector.
The Head of the Republic went on to talk about housing construction, which reached a new all-time high in 2023 with 373,000 square metres commissioned, which amounted to a per capita indicator of 0.7 square metres. The region has been actively supporting the tourism and services sectors. Since 2017, revenue generated from the processing sector increased by a factor of 1.7, while the same indicator almost doubled for agricultural production. Proceeds from tourism tripled, while the SMEs doubled their revenue. However, the regional economy still depends on aluminium and coal production, which reflects a historical trend. During Soviet times, the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP was built to serve aluminium plants, while coal production played a major role in the local economy even before the 1917 Revolution, but gradually, the regional economy has come to depend less on these sectors lately.
Turning to national projects, Valentin Konovalov said that they enabled the region to attract over 35 billion rubles since 2019. The Republic of Khakassia built 39 healthcare facilities. Most of them were rural paramedic centres and outpatient clinics, but there were also several major urban projects. For example, the oncology centre got a new radiology building which now serves not only the residents of Khakassia, but also patients from Tyva and the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The region has also upgraded almost its entire fleet of ambulances and medical vehicles, and also bought 1,500 units of medical equipment. In an effort to attract specialists to the Republic, there is a local programme enabling doctors and paramedics to buy housing.
The President noted that the region has yet to reach a national average in terms of the availability of doctors, while Valentin Konovalov responded that Khakassia has gone to great lengths to attract medical professionals and has started training paramedics at its educational institutions.
The discussion also touched on education, kindergartens, schools, and a programme of integrated development of rural areas where new schools, kindergartens, cultural centres, infrastructure facilities and apartment houses are being built.
Valentin Konovalov spoke separately about the special military operation. Over 500 tonnes of humanitarian aid had been dispatched to the frontline and to people in the new territories. Special attention is being given to the families of the fighting personnel, with a separate programme comprising a package of measures, benefits and payments. The Defenders of the Fatherland foundation is operating in the region.
The Head of Khakassia also spoke about the territories under the patronage of the Republic. They include the city of Sverdlovsk and the Sverdlovsk District in the Lugansk People’s Republic. Last year, a school and a kindergarten were repaired with costs standing at 50 million rubles, children were sent to summer camps, and Russian language, literature and history books, as well as musical equipment for culture centres were provided. Two more schools are being repaired this year.
Vladimir Putin pointed out that more construction projects were underway in the Republic, investment was growing, and the unemployment rate had seriously decreased. Valentin Konovalov confirmed that the unemployment rate was record low, namely 1.6 percent according to international standards, while the registered rate was 0.7 percent. Both public sector and private companies are fighting to hire more staff.
The President raised one more issue which concerns many regions, namely the disposal of solid household waste. He suggested that closer ties should be developed with waste disposal companies, which need assistance but should also organise their work to properly implement their duties. Valentin Konovalov said their goal was to build a waste processing complex until the end of 2026.
Vladimir Putin noted that some issues were of special concern for society, such as the situation in the zone of the special military operation, the implementation of large-scale projects, and the further development of shipbuilding and the aviation sector. There are many global issues, but they must not be allowed to overshadow the importance of seemingly minor details in people’s lives because the quality of their lives depends on them, the President said. He expressed the hope that other regions would also take this into account and would not neglect the issues that are extremely important for people’s lives and remain topical.
After that, the discussion touched on other issues prepared by the Head of Khakassia in writing.