Starting the meeting, the President noted that the Krasnodar Territory was developing well, almost all its key performance indicators were good, and unemployment, which is at its lowest in the country, was below the national average in the region. Investment numbers are very good. Population growth is a core indicator, which, of course, raises social issues, such as increasing the number of ambulance crews and the capacity of kindergartens and schools.
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Mr Kondratyev reported that the economy was steady and had adapted to the challenges and difficulties. The gross regional product amounted to four trillion rubles in late 2023 compared to two trillion rubles in 2018. Regional producers and businesses gained access to the domestic market. The ability to increase capacity and sell output on the domestic market is an important factor of growth.
The Governor also said that seven industrial parks had been built in the Krasnodar Territory, and seven more were under construction. Infrastructure loans, which the region receives from the federal budget as directed by the President, are crucial, especially for resorts. These loans will be used to build 17 treatment facilities on the Black Sea coast. The construction will begin this year.
Regarding the agro-industrial complex, last year's harvest was quite good, even though not a record breaker at 14.4 million tonnes, of which wheat accounted for 9.6 million tonnes. Enterprises had sown 1.8 million hectares with winter crops and started sowing spring crops on 1.8 million hectares as well. A decent harvest is expected this year. Agrarians have been provided with fuel, fertiliser, and seeds in full. As of the end of last year, the agrarians have purchased various types of agricultural machinery worth 23 billion rubles. The law on viticulture and winemaking has launched a new industry which was non-existent in the region literally until 2019, when winemaking was a garage business. Since the time the law was passed in 2019, 1.5 billion bottles of champagne and wine have been produced. Last year alone, 305 million bottles were produced. Drinking wine and champagne from local wine material derived from local grapes grown in the Krasnodar Territory is now a sign of sophistication.
Veniamin Kondratyev recalled that the Industrial Development Fund established with the President’s support already has 7.1 billion rubles. These funds are spent on upgrading enterprises and import substitution production lines. The interest rate is kept low, under four percent. Last year, industrial product sales reached 1.8 trillion rubles. Owing to the fund, the amount of industrial output grew by almost 45 percent in five years.
Vladimir Putin also noted that investment in the health resort industry has increased a lot – from 18.6 billion to 488 billion. Veniamin Kondratyev said that due to the enactments of a corresponding territorial law, investment in new hotels has grown by 20 times since 2020. Currently, 48 hotels worth a total of almost 500 billion rubles are under construction in the Krasnodar Territory. About 30,000 new rooms will be ready for use by the end of next year. The Krasnodar Territory is the health resort and spa centre of the whole country. Last year, 18.6 million people spent their vacations there. This is a record, but not the limit. There will be demand for the hotels that are now under construction. The President emphasised the need to maintain continuous control over the quality of service.
Schools and kindergartens were discussed as well. According to Mr Kondratyev, 90 schools, 194 kindergartens and 214 sports facilities have been built since 2016 when he became governor. Of this number, 42 schools, 61 kindergartens, 49 sports facilities and 70 general practitioner offices and rural paramedic centres have been built under national projects in the past five years. A total of 1,300 parks and squares were also improved under a national project.
Vladimir Putin noted the need to focus on the facilities in poor shape. Their problems should be resolved as soon as possible. They should undergo major repairs or be replaced with new facilities. Mr Kondratyev explained that about 30 clinics are under major repairs while 43 hospitals have already been rebuilt. The Governor emphasised that on the whole, the Krasnodar Territory received 260 billion rubles under this national project. This amount of social construction is unprecedented for the region.