Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Mr Minnikhanov, what are the results for the first quarter of the year in your republic?

Rustam Minnikhanov: We have good results for the first quarter. Last year's industrial production output exceeded 1.04 trillion. This year's results are also good: 400 billion in the first four months. The growth in the petrochemical industry and automobile manufacture was 7%. Last year was difficult for agribusiness. Thank you for your support, which helped us save the livestock. In addition to government funding, we had to use the regional budget. Fortunately, we managed to save the cattle both at private farms and state-owned agribusinesses.

Vladimir Putin: Has the number of pigs fallen? What about other animals?

Rustam Minnikhanov: Not significantly. Our aim was to preserve the cattle, which is important. Pigs and birds are not a serious problem. Winter crops are in a good state, and the spring sowing campaign is almost finished. Our major project is TANECO, which you supported.

Vladimir Putin: Yes, TANECO is a large project.

Rustam Minnikhanov: In total, we have invested 200 billion roubles in TANECO Refinery And Petrochemical Plant Complex, 150 of which was spent on the first complex. The second complex is also planned. Of the total 200 billion roubles, the Investment Fund allocated 16.5 billion for the construction of an oil pipeline and a railway. The work has been completed, the pipeline and the railway are ready. The complex is now being commissioned and we are registering the licences. Next we will introduce technologies for deeper hydrocarbon processing. The target you have set for us is to get it to the level of 97-98%. We plan to reach it by 2016. We are launching hydrocarbon cracking in 2013.

Vladimir Putin: I like your railway project of connecting the air terminal to the city centre.

Rustam Minnikhanov: Thank you, Mr Putin. This decision was made as part of the preparations for the Universiade and the FIFA World Cup. We hope to develop intermodal transportation in our city, which will cut down the travelling time from the airport to the city centre to 20 minutes. The preparations are now under way.

I would like to thank you for the support you have given to the Sollers-Ford project. We have fulfilled all the terms. I have visited the special economic zone with Deputy Economic Development Minister Oleg Savelyev. We have invited foreign suppliers of auto components, and 17 of them have already arrived and find the project very interesting. The terms have been fulfilled and all that is left to do is sign a contract for industrial assembly. The work is in progress.

Vladimir Putin: You must agree on the terms.

Rustam Minnikhanov: The terms are set by the Russian government.

Vladimir Putin: Have they agreed to these terms?

Rustam Minnikhanov: Yes, they have.

Vladimir Putin: You also have the Mercedes truck assembly project.

Rustam Minnikhanov: Mr Putin, this project is part of the KAMAZ development programme. It is a highly promising project for the production of 4,500 vehicles. It is being implemented. In addition, we are planning to launch a new project by February for the production of Case New Holland agricultural machinery, tractors and excavators. The work is under way. There is also Bosch, a Swiss company.

There was a lot of snow this past winter, and it showed that we must modernise our equipment. Currently, we are working jointly with KAMAZ and are searching for a remote partner to produce snow removal equipment. The project is also being implemented.

Vladimir Putin: Good. And how is the stadium construction progressing?

Rustam Minnikhanov: It is going according to plan.

At a meeting of the Organising Committee chaired by Igor Shuvalov we reported on all the sports facilities that are under construction, including the Civic Centre at the Academy of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism. We also presented our water stadium. Today 1,900 people are employed at the football stadium. The stadium will be able to host both the Universiade and the World Cup.

Regarding sports facilities, the main ones are being completed, with only football and the water stadiums' construction to be continued next year to comply with the new cauldron requirements. We are now changing the requirements for synchronised swimming and world championships in water sports. Some changes have been introduced. We are now working on completing the infrastructure.

Vladimir Putin: It must not stand idle, it must be used.

Rustam Minnikhanov: Cameras have been fitted at all the sports facilities. You can look it up online, the classes being taught there at any given time and the way the facilities are being used. That is vitally important. We have launched this construction to develop sports in our city, and not just for the Universiade. And we have all the necessary facilities.

I would like to thank you for the construction of the metro. Three stations are currently being built. We will complete the construction by the Universiade. One station has already been built using our own resources. Work is under way at 14 junctions, including 44 pedestrian crossings and a road network construction which was started in the preparation for the Universiade. Work is carried in all areas.

Vladimir Putin: And what about the students' residence hall? How is the construction going?

Rustam Minnikhanov: We plan to finish the second stage of construction by September 1. The completion date for the Civic Centre is scheduled for the end of the year.

And there is another good project. As a major metal consumer, our republic disposes of large amounts of scrap metal. We would like to propose a steelworks project for your consideration. This is Mr Komarov, who is in charge of these projects. I have visited the site, and I the projects are very good. They would enable us to supply metal for both KAMAZ and Sollers-Ford. It is an up-to-date project.

Vladimir Putin: Let's have a look. The republic had a developed housing construction sector. What are the results for the previous year and plans for the current year?

Rustam Minnikhanov: Mr Putin, first of all I would like to thank the federal government for settling a problem that persisted for decades. The problem was to provide housing for veterans. More than 12,000 people have already received housing, half through the secondary real estate market and the other half in newly constructed buildings.

Above that, 10,500 to 11,000 flats are built annually under the social mortgage programme. We have reported to you on this programme. It is now being implemented. This year our target is to commission about 2.4 million square metres and we are confident that we can achieve this.

Vladimir Putin: And what was the result for the previous year?

Rustam Minnikhanov: More than two million square metres.

Vladimir Putin: So you plan for growth.

Rustam Minnikhanov: The growth is generated by the conditions we must fulfil. Our infrastructure programmes give us growth every year.

Vladimir Putin: Good.