Putin: reproaches to the Ministry of Finance regarding the financing of housing and communal services are unfair

The Russian economy became the first in Europe and the fifth in the world. And this is despite all attempts at pressure from outside, Vladimir Putin said today in Khabarovsk at a meeting with entrepreneurs of the Far Eastern Federal District. It was about developing business and the entire region. It is now the gateway to Asia, where the biggest deals take place. There is a lot to work on: logistics, housing renovation, tourism development. The plans were clearly presented to the president. Details are in the correspondent’s material “Izvestia“Evgeniya Podtergery.

After Chukotka, the next destination on Putin’s Far Eastern trip was supposed to be Yakutsk. But due to bad weather, plans had to be changed. Khabarovsk met with a relatively mild disadvantage by local standards.

This is the University of the Pacific. In its halls are master plans for the development of the Far East until 2030. We are talking about a huge territory. And hundreds of infrastructure projects: the construction of new buildings, hospitals, sports complexes, bridges and tourist clusters.

“A master plan is not just a concept for the construction of individual buildings or even entire microdistricts, it is, rather, a development scenario for the coming years. For example, in one of the districts of Khabarovsk they plan to build an embankment with a promenade, which will also be a dam protecting the city from floods “Very relevant for the region, which suffered from floods on the Amur in 2013,” – said correspondent Evgeniy Podtergera.

The future embankment project was created in this animation studio. Vladimir Putin likes it, except that he is embarrassed by the parking with a panoramic view of the Amur.

The development of such projects requires a lot of money. In this room there are large and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurs from 11 regions that are already investing in the Far East.

“The general, super-liberal approach is that everyone should be placed on equal terms. And the Far East, too, as well as the European part. Well, then depopulation would continue here,” – Vladimir Putin noted.

We are talking about benefits that are available not only to those who take out a Far Eastern mortgage, but also to developers. The government is reducing the tax burden on local businesses. As a result, there are a huge number of new companies here: from agriculture to IT.

“An amazing result. It seems that we are being strangled, put under pressure, but we have become, in general, the first in Europe in terms of economic volume. We have overtaken Germany and taken fifth place in the world. China, USA, India, Japan, Russia,” – the Russian leader emphasized.

The Far East is our gateway to Asia, where the largest transactions and projects are currently taking place. Trade turnover between local companies and Chinese companies has doubled in ten years.

“For us, about 40% of the cost of production in China is logistics,” – Denis Gros, Executive Director of Avangard Industrial Park LLC, drew attention.

Trade turnover could have been higher if not for one “but”. The head of a company that produces building materials complains: the products are cheap, but everything is consumed by logistics – the nearest border crossing is 700 kilometers from Khabarovsk.

“We need to look at the territories that could be used to expand these logistics routes and checkpoints – a register can be made and developed accordingly,” – suggested the Russian leader.

Another problem: there are simply not enough modern warehouses at the border.

– Outdated warehouse infrastructure means an increase in delivery times and transportation costs.
“We’ll talk to the governor and think about it.” We need to decide on checkpoints and logistics centers.

To export more, we need both high-speed trains and highways.

“We will develop high-speed traffic: first in the European part, then we will go to the Urals. And of course, we need to increase the speed of cargo transportation,” – said Putin.

Too high tariffs for housing and communal services are another serious obstacle to the development of local business. They know about the problem. 150 billion rubles have already been allocated to support the industry.

“We have no reason to believe that we will cut anything here. Everyone criticizes the Ministry of Finance, sometimes I do too. But in this case, reproaches against the Ministry of Finance are unfair. Because the Ministry of Finance supported all these long-term funds for financing the housing and communal services system,” – the head of state recalled.

Tariffs also spoil the lives of Far Eastern entrepreneurs. The director of a company that supplies seafood explains: foreigners coming to our market pay only 5%, but we abroad pay several times more.

“Here you are right. You can’t take wrong steps here. First, work with subsidies for transportation, and then duties. Or synchronize at the same time. Because with the delivery of eggs, you can see what happened with us. We didn’t get our bearings in time. The volume of production is “Our consumption has not decreased, consumption has increased. But they didn’t think about opening imports on time,” – the Russian leader agreed.

There were also many questions regarding the key rate – a sore subject for anyone who starts their own business. Its increase is a temporary measure, but necessary to curb the growth of inflation.

“You said it won’t be better because of inflation. It will be better. Because all the actions of the Central Bank and the government, well, not all, but a significant part of them, are aimed at suppressing inflation,” – Putin clarified.

The numbers give reason for optimism. In 2023 alone, more than 300 thousand new enterprises and companies were opened in the Far East. And all this during a period of unprecedented anti-Russian sanctions and hybrid wars.