Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: How are things going in your region, Mr Yurchenko?
Vasily Yurchenko: Let me give you a review of our performance over the last ten months. We’ve achieved a 107.4% growth in industrial output…
Vladimir Putin: Yes, I just looked at the statistics. It’s better than the national average, in fact -- 7% compared with 5%.
Vasily Yurchenko: Yes, and our growth rate is even higher in agriculture, at 111%. For the first time ever, the Novosibirsk Region has risen to the fourth position in gross milk production. This year, we’ve produced 15,000 tonnes of milk more than in the same period last year. And the number of cattle has grown as well, for the first time in the past two decades.
The main priority task set by our regional government is to ensure economic growth in the region by boosting investment. We’ve already managed to implement a number of large-scale projects in cooperation with investors. These and other projects are featured in the booklet, “Major Investment Projects.” This year we’re launching what will be Russia’s first facility for the production of lithium-ion batteries for electric-powered public transport. Tests are currently underway for a trolleybus model designed by Novosibirsk engineers. It can cover a distance of up to 50 kilometres without its cords attached to a power transmission line.
Vladimir Putin: This is important not just for city transport. Developments like this can also be applied elsewhere.
Vasily Yurchenko: We are launching it [the trolleybus] to Tolmachevo. It will operate as a shuttle between the city centre and the Tolmachevo Airport.
Mr Putin, you chaired a meeting on technology parks in 2005. (Shows images) Here are two unique construction projects that we’ve completed just now. We’re opening one of these towers this year and the other one next year. Our technopark is able to accommodate 115 residents, who are expected to produce more than 10 billion roubles’ worth of products by the end of the year. We had some difficulty launching it (you are aware of this since you personally helped us address problems related to the acquisition of federal lands). But now this has become a high-profile project.
Vladimir Putin: Why do you have wage arrears? They are modest, but they do exist.
Vasily Yurchenko: As of today, we have 83 million roubles to repay in back wages.
Vladimir Putin: Ninety-three million, to be precise.
Vasily Yurchenko: We’ve reduced our debt by 10 million over the past week. It comes from three companies: Sibselmash, Luch (Rostekhnologii), and Sibtekstilmash. Spetstekhnika. Servis. We’re currently searching for ways to reinvigorate production at Rostekhnologii, which has fulfilled a defence contract…
Vladimir Putin: Where do your arrears come from? They’ve paid for the products, haven’t they?
Vasily Yurchenko: Production there [at Luch/Rostekhnologii] has not been efficient enough, and the costs that the company is presently incurring… Luch is in a unique position. The other companies have no defence contracts whatsoever, and all of their output is civilian. These two have problems with the management, though. It’s enterprises like this that tarnish our reputation these days.
Vladimir Putin: Forget about reputation! Workers are not getting paid on time!
Vasily Yurchenko: We’re working to fix the problem, Mr Putin. I’ll take on the matter personally.
Vladimir Putin: Please don’t let it go unattended.
Vasily Yurchenko: I won’t.
Vladimir Putin: You should be finishing construction of a federal neurosurgery centre soon, yes?
Vasily Yurchenko: That's right.
Vladimir Putin: How is work on that proceeding?
Vasily Yurchenko: Everything is going according to schedule. I chaired a meeting on the site last Friday. The construction itself will be completed in December. You will remember, perhaps, that at one point we had a delay in the supply of equipment modules. But in December this year, all of the construction work will be completed. The installation of medical equipment will begin on December 15. The equipment has all been purchased by Rostekhnologii. Work has been synchronised with a high degree of precision. In the first quarter [of next year], the centre will be ready to admit patients.
Vladimir Putin: You mean you’re about to turn the project in to the Health Ministry?
Vasily Yurchenko: The construction work will be completed in December.
Vladimir Putin: It’ll take the ministry about a month and a half…
Vasily Yurchenko: We’ll need some time to set up the medical appliances. But the personnel is already 92% prepared. We’ve trained neurosurgeons and paramedics at Novosibirsk’s federal Research Institute of Injury Medicine and Orthopedics.
Vladimir Putin: You said that your centre would be able to admit patients starting in the first quarter of next year. But before that, you'll have to pass through all the necessary formalities.
Vasily Yurchenko: Exactly right. Mrs Golikova and I have already discussed the matter, including that which has been created. A new legal entity is being formed to accept all builder output. We’re currently actively cooperating with the Health Ministry on that.
Vladimir Putin: Checking the figures, I saw that for healthcare modernisation, you’ve earmarked about $3.4 billion roubles this year and $3.5 next year.
Vasily Yurchenko: These are additional funds, to supplement the modernisation programme that we’re currently running with support from the federal centre. This is the case because, unfortunately, we have no perinatal centres in our region, and we have not been included in the [federal targeted] programme aimed at developing new perinatal centres. However, we’re completing the planning of a perinatal centre, which we will start building with our own money in 2012, so that the facility could become operational in 2013. We have no obstetrics clinic so far, unfortunately. Child delivery assistance should be provided in high-tech medical facilities, and so we’ve decided to adopt an additional long-term targeted programme.
Vladimir Putin: Excellent. And how many of your sites are involved in the modernisation programme?
Vasily Yurchenko: We have 257 medical institutions involved in the programme in our region. Some of those based in rural areas have been upgraded already…We are planning to return to this issue next year.
We’ve saved some 123 million roubles on refurbishment contracts and another 187 million on equipment supply contracts. There have been a lot of questions about why tomography devices are so expensive. Our specialists have been able to arrange the bidding process in such a way as to purchase equipment at a price lower than Moscow has paid. I’ve discussed this with Mr Sobyanin [the Mayor of Moscow].
Vladimir Putin: Good. The important thing is the quality [of an appliance] and that it should have an extended warranty.
Vasily Yurchenko: The contract has been formulated very precisely.
Vladimir Putin: Also, you’ve received some 380 million roubles in allocations for school reforms, for major repairs to school facilities, and so forth. How is your work progressing in this area? What is the situation like with the teacher pay increases in your region?
Vasily Yurchenko: Since September 1, we have been raising teachers’ salaries to the average in all sectors. As for the federal funds allocated for school reform, we’ve channeled most of them into repairs. We began by replacing old windows to raise the energy efficiency of our school buildings. This has enabled us to reduce energy costs while at the same time improving the schools’ exterior. So we’ve spent those federal allocations mostly on repairs, and have released money from the regional coffers especially to increase teachers’ salaries.
Vladimir Putin: I hope you don’t forget about pre-school institutions, either.
Vasily Yurchenko: We adopted a programme on kindergartens last January, and have since built new facilities large enough to accommodate a total 3,700 children. And the overall capacity of the nursery schools we’re planning to launch next year will be 6,600.
I believe the municipal education programme should be considered a failure if we fail to provide even one out of the 300 places pledged. I believe that by late 2012-early 2013, we’ll be able to reduce the shortage of kindergarten places [in the region] to a minimum. Our child waiting list currently numbers 34,000, with 17,500 of the children being under 1.5 years old, which is too early to go to a nursery school. Apparently, the parents of these kids register them just to increase their chances of getting a place in the future. So I think that our massive launch of additional kindergarten facilities this and next year will enable us to get this problem resolved just in time.
Vladimir Putin: Good.