Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Mr Ilyukhin, I’ve just looked through some of the reports on your region’s performance. Industrial production is growing quite fast; in other sectors, there are positive trends, too. But I’ve noticed a slight decrease in construction, which is also the case elsewhere in the country. This is, actually, one of the most acute problems facing your region these days. What are you planning to do about it and what kind of progress are you making in moving people out of dilapidated housing into new developments?
Vladimir Ilyukhin: It’s true, we had a construction downturn following the introduction of online competitions and trading sessions this past spring. But we’re now back on schedule. Our major construction programme is set for the third and the fourth quarters. We’ll implement it in full before the end of this year, completing some 47,000 square metres of residential space.
We’ve got another competition scheduled for July and August. We’ll allot a site for the construction of 42,000 square metres of housing, and this development will continue into the year 2012. All the targets set in the programme will be met or even exceeded slightly thanks to the construction of housing for military service personnel. So I hope the situation will be developing in a positive way.
Now on to the problem of moving tenants out of dilapidated housing. Some of those in need will be provided with flats in our new public housing developments. In keeping with your instructions, we’ve done a lot to provide better facilities to people currently living in dormitories. The five families that have complained to you about their cramped living conditions have already been provided with new housing. All in all, as of July 20, 119 families have been resettled from dormitories to their own homes. We’ve allocated some 180 million roubles for the purpose from regional coffers and have nearly exhausted our resources by now.
Vladimir Putin: But we told you that you can use the money originally allocated for enhancing buildings’ seismic resistance, didn’t we?
Vladimir Ilyukhin: Yes. And some of the families will be resettled using those allocations. It will take us another 2.5 billion roubles to solve the problem of dorms. There are about 40 buildings in the city currently used as dormitories; four of them have been classified as dilapidated following the inspection and are scheduled for demolition. But, as I said, we’re running out of resources.
Vladimir Putin: Okay, we’ll see what additional assistance we could provide. But please try to find a way to contribute. This should be a collaborative effort.
Vladimir Ilyukhin: Sure. We’re ready to spend another billion from the regional purse to solve the problem…
Vladimir Putin: We should by all means resettle people from dilapidated buildings. So let’s do it this way. Tell me later on how much more you will be able to allocate for the programme and I will instruct the relevant federal agencies to provide the remainder of the required sum.
Vladimir Ilyukhin: Okay. Thank you. In keeping with your instructions, we’ve allocated money to urban development projects in Petropavlovsk, and work is now in full swing there. By October 15, we’ll complete several ambitious housing and road projects. It’s a pity we’ve been held back by bad weather …
Vladimir Putin: I’ll come and see for myself what the situation is like on the ground.
Vladimir Ilyukhin: We’ll be happy to have you.
Vladimir Putin: What do you see as your most important infrastructure development projects? I know you’re developing the fishing industry quite successfully and that you’re carrying out a few projects related to fish processing.
Vladimir Ilyukhin: Yes, we seem to have good prospects in this field. Many businesses now trust the government and are not afraid of coming to Kamchatka to invest.
Just a week ago I returned from a trip to the village of Ivashka in the Karaginsky area. A modern plant has been opened there. It had been under construction since March. Some 300 jobs have been created for the community thanks to this new plant. The project cost nearly 300 million roubles.
On the same day, we laid the foundation for another plant. This one, run by the company Vostochny Bereg (Eastern Coast), costs an estimated 630 million roubles and is to be launched next year.
There are seven large projects currently being developed in Kamchatka’s fishing sector. I believe the region has good prospects in fishery as we’re working to develop deep on-site fish processing. This will bring in new jobs and additional tax revenue, along with helping us sustain coastal communities – one of our priority tasks today, especially in northern areas such as the former Koryak Autonomous Area.
The situation up there has always been complicated and it remains that way despite the fact that some of the problems in relations with small indigenous communities have been resolved. We’ve found an appropriate mode of interaction. Fish processing operators that have special fishing areas reserved for them now sign co-sharing agreements with indigenous communities for whom fishing is the main livelihood, allowing them to catch fish at their fishing areas. This practice has been widely accepted by both sides, that is, by the indigenous inhabitants and fish-industry workers. So we’ll continue down this road.
Vladimir Putin: How is gold mining proceeding?
Vladimir Ilyukhin: The territory’s economy is based on two pillars, the fishery complex and the ore mining industry. The emphasis is on raw materials production. These two sectors enable us to increase people’s real incomes, to raise their wages. In the economy, wages are in the region of 39,000 roubles, about 35,000 roubles in the healthcare sector, and about 30,000 or, to be exact, little more than 29,000 roubles in public education.
Vladimir Putin: So wages in education are about average for the regional economy?
Vladimir Ilyukhin: Yes. Renova Group has started initial mine development at the Ametistovoye deposit in the Penzhinsky District. The plans for this year so far include completing work on a gold mine at the Asachinskoye deposit. Renova Group, a major company, has also launched gold mining operations at the Balkhachsky site in central Kamchatka.
You know that today the native platinum deposit that Koryakgeoldobycha has been developing is all but exhausted, which is why it plans to expand into gold. This has good potential. As I see it, the positive changes in the territory’s economy are linked to the mining sector’s development. We have re-established the mining council where we discuss all these issues. First of all, we must solve the problem of expired licenses. There are very many licensed companies that are not fully operational.
Vladimir Putin: What about healthcare, the modernisation project?
Vladimir Ilyukhin: We are actively implementing the project. We receive large funds. I have travelled all across the north, including the Koryak Autonomous Area. Their attitude is very positive and optimistic, as this was the only way to improve the situation in healthcare. And now we have just such an opportunity, which is a big plus for us.
Vladimir Putin: How much funding did you receive?
Vladimir Ilyukhin: If I remember right, $2,000,700,000 roubles.
Vladimir Putin: How many healthcare institutions do you plan to modernise and equip using these resources and your regional funds?
Vladimir Ilyukhin: This money will go to twelve municipal and territorial institutions, where it will be spent efficiently. We have a large problem with our territorial hospital as it lies in a seismic danger zone that ranks ten on the scale. Specialists warn that catastrophic earthquakes may hit Kamchatka. That is why it is extremely important to find a new location for the hospital outside the city. We have found a construction site for the new territorial hospital. It is a very important part of our social infrastructure. We funded and carried out the necessary preparatory work, and developed the feasibility study for it – now it is undergoing state assessments. We would be very glad to receive some support through the Economic and Social Development of the Far East and Trans-Baikal Territory programme. The healthcare programme offers us support for 2014-2015, which is a long way away.
Vladimir Putin: Ok, we’ll see.