Prime Minister Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Governor of Samara Region Vladimir Artyakov, Director General of the Rostekhnologii State Corporation Sergei Chemezov, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin.
Vladimir Putin's introductory remarks:
Good afternoon,
On December 19 we held a meeting to support our carmakers at KAMAZ. At that meeting the head of AvtoVAZ and the Governor of the Samara Region made a request: AvtoVAZ top managers asked us to help discharge from the plant's balance sheet its social facilities, and make them the property of either the Samara Region or the municipality.
The Governor is ready to take on these facilities but he wants help from the federal budget. This is no small money. Every year, VAZ spends 1,700 million roubles on the upkeep of these facilities. It covers practically all of Togliatti's social facilities: 47 kindergartens, the Palace of Sports, one more sports facility, medical institutions, and the upkeep of all municipal transport.
The Governor asked for more than 600 million roubles from the federal budget. During all this time, different departments held consultations, and the final decision will be as follows: We will help him get these 620 million roubles, out of which 310 million will be subsidised, and another 310 million will be loaned to the Samara Region. The loan will be issued every year over the next three years to make all of Togliatti's social facilities the property of the municipality or directly of the Samara Region in this time.
The heads of the plant and Rostekhnologii have assured me that if these problems are resolved, they will be able to keep the social situation under control, and to guarantee the plant's development plans. They have promised to me that there will be no serious layoffs at VAZ as such. In other words, they are planning to retain jobs at the plant. I proceed from the premise that this is what they will do.
Let's now discuss the situation in the Samara Region, and other issues in more detail.