VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
“I think that, as with the energy market, we should consider introducing the principles of economically justified profit on investment capital. In this way we will be able to form transparent, stable and long-term rules of the game for the future and attract to the industry really big, so-called long-term investment, including money from pension and insurance funds, Russian and foreign financial institutions and resources of strategic investors.”
“Clearly, we must fundamentally improve our tariff policy on railway transport and switch to modern methods of regulation in this sphere. We need a predictable tariff formula that is understandable to all economic players, and it should last for five to ten years rather than one.”
“According to expert estimates, we will have to invest another five trillion roubles in infrastructure modernisation and development in the next decade. One of our priorities is to increase access to Eastern Siberia and the Far East and to develop approaches to our major sea ports. Thus, we must organise new routes as part of preparations for the 2014 Olympics and the World Cup in 2018. We will also expand our programme for high-speed passenger service.”
“Dozens of railway terminals have been repaired and high-speed service has opened between Moscow and St Petersburg, Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, and St Petersburg and Helsinki. We have started implementing projects for intermodal shipments that make it possible to connect ground and air transport into a single transport system. We are finishing building the Kuznetsov Tunnel in the Far East, which will allow us to lift restrictions for shipping cargoes to the ports of Vanino and Sovetskaya Gavan; we are expanding approaches to the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk in the North-West and have built a railway to Nizhny Bestyakh. This will allow us to launch projects for the comprehensive exploration of the south of Yakutia, which is a very important region for the development of Eastern Siberia.”
“Therefore, we must proceed from the following basic task – today we must create advanced, powerful infrastructure capacity in railway transport and form a clear series of priority projects for the long-term perspective, and most important, we need to be fully clear on the funding.”
“We must implement several railway development projects in northwestern and southern Russia, as well as in the far eastern parts of the country. In addition, a self-regulating organisation similar to the Market Board in the power engineering industry needs to be established in order to coordinate work and balance the interests of market participants. I believe we must revise the transport strategy immediately. This issue holds back implementation of our plans to develop natural resources and create new industrial centres.”
“A 25 billion-rouble credit line is to be opened for the construction of the middle part of the Western High-Speed Diameter highway in St Petersburg. <…> Without a doubt, it will mark a step forward in developing our infrastructure and giving second wind to that part of our country, giving it a new character that is up to European standards, and it will spare this city of five million the burden congestion with heavy vehicles, many of which still pass through central parts of the city even after the ring road around Petersburg was built.”
“We have built 2.5 billion roubles for the subsidised air transportation programme into the federal budget for next year. The same goes for 2013 and 2014. The same funds for each year have been built into the three-year budget. In addition, the programme will be supplemented with new routes as of 2012. They will include Moscow-Pevek, Moscow-Tiksi, and Moscow-Naryan-Mar. The list is still open. I have requested that the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance, and regional leaders look into the issue of further expanding this list.”
“Undoubtedly, we will continue to pay special attention to all issues related to transport infrastructure. We have to efficiently integrate these territories into the national and global transport flows, that is, create new opportunities for promoting economic growth, attracting investments, and improving the quality of life in these regions.”
“We need to expand the carriers’ capabilities regarding acquisition of new equipment and introduce more effective leasing arrangements. It’s no less important to renovate the transportation infrastructure – we have just mentioned it – and outfit it with reliable inspection and control equipment. The transport industry should adhere to the latest safety standards. These standards should serve as a foundation for regular professional training, retraining and evaluation of the industry’s employees.”
“Obsolete equipment must be replaced by efficient high-tech vehicles. I am referring to new rail locomotive models, commercial vehicles, buses, trolleybuses, trams and shuttle minibuses, which should meet the modern requirements of safety, comfort and environmental protection.”
“What we actually need is an efficient and transparent market of railway operations that would be immune to such artificially created problems as a shortage of rail cars. <…>We need a system that can ensure the coordinated work of the carrier companies and the availability of trains for customers. The transportation fares must be adequate – on the one hand, they should provide operators with enough resources for investment and development, and on the other hand, they should not constrain economic activity in other industries, and across the country.”
“I can tell you that we plan to attract 1.5 trillion roubles of private investment into the building of new roads by 2020. We should use leasing more actively, issue bonds to finance projects and use other investment tools. We will sign concession agreements and life-cycle contracts in road-building, when the contractor is economically interested not only in building a road, but also in doing so at reasonable prices and with a high quality of work so that the road will last for decades.”
“We will continue developing the infrastructure of the Russian railways. In the past four years over 50 complicated tunnels and bridges have been built or renovated. Access routes to key sea ports have been expanded, high speed passenger trains have been launched. Dozens of railway stations have undergone a complete renewal. <…>And I think we should develop a state programme on high-speed rail operations. Given the size of our country, this would be a highly popular project, and very important for the development of our economy.”
“I am confident that the role and importance of Russia's transport industry will continue to grow. First of all, we need higher living standards and better quality of life, a more comfortable environment in big cities and small towns. That is impossible to achieve without modern transport services, which include – and I would like to emphasise this – affordable public transport. Second, our task is to provide the required infrastructure for rapid economic growth, development of new industrial centres and for extending economic operations to remote areas.”
“We expect that federal and regional road construction funds will accumulate more than eight trillion roubles by 2020. With these resources we can tackle the most challenging tasks. Within the next five to ten years we must upgrade every federal highway in the country. This goal is realistic enough, and I have no doubt that we can achieve it. Regional, urban and rural roads require particular attention. We must support the municipalities and regions.”
“As Russian Railways’ sole shareholder, the government will certainly take an active part in the implementation of the company’s social programmes and backbone projects. Let me recall that the federal budget allocates 40.4 billion roubles in 2012 for these purposes. Moreover, in September, we decided to provide additional support to the company: notably, it will receive an additional 40 billion roubles in order to implement its investment programme in 2012 and for capital repairs of railway infrastructure. The returns here will take the form of a better quality of transport services, lower costs for economic agents and, of course, for people, for passengers.”
“Today, Russia has a larger fleet of rail cars than the Soviet Union, but we still carry less cargo. And there are also problems of a clearly systemic nature. <…>Russian Railways itself must act in a more timely manner. The Tariff Service has been instructed to calculate an appropriate rate so no private company bears any losses. Russian Railways bears no losses, but instead operates with a profitability rate of at least 10% – and maybe a little more – somewhere around 15%. However, work must begin now.”
“The development of infrastructure in general and roads in particular is very important for any country, any economy and perhaps is an issue of prime importance for Russia. However, we can see that road construction in such remote parts of Russia as the Far East or eastern Siberia is also extremely important because once they are in place, they will have a multiplier effect on the regional development in general.”
“Developing modern infrastructure along the Northern Sea Route is a major objective. We are launching a comprehensive transport project designed to ensure the dynamic development and exploration of our northern territories, resolve vital economic and social challenges and create new production lines and jobs. <…>The NSR and its major harbours will be integrated with other modes of transport. We are also planning to upgrade river, car and railway routes and communications, northern airfields, airports and polar aviation. We are going to considerably expand our ice-breaker fleet.”
“We need modern safety standards, reliability and durability of motorways. For this, we’ll have to change a lot in the principles and logic of the relations between contractors and road builders in order to make quality construction profitable. The creation of comprehensive contracts should be one of the effective means of resolving this issue. <…>Today, these contracts are not provided for by law in road construction. I hope the current amendments will make it possible to make broader use of public-private partnerships, both for the construction of federal motorways and for upgrading the regional road network.”
“The goal is at least to double the amount of road construction in Russia. That calls not only for money and advanced technologies, but for new approaches to infrastructure development and attracting investments, and above all various models of public-private partnership.”
“This year alone we have allocated 34 billion roubles for municipal road repairs and local grounds development in all big cities that are regional administrative centres. That amount includes the 3.7 billion roubles provided by the federal budget for municipal road repairs and local grounds development in big cities in the Northwestern Federal District. <…> The federal government is committed to overhauling all the federal highways in the next five years: the Russia, Baltia, Kola, Narva, Scandinavia and Kholmogory motorways. We will rebuild and broaden the border crossings to spare people humiliating traffic jams, but we very much hope that our neighbours in adjacent territories will implement their development programmes, too.”
“We need to work and our work should be based on the amount of funds that we can allocate for road construction. However, we need to do it in a smart manner and in time – then people will notice changes for the better, only in this case.”
“No doubt, the transport industry is a major national area of activity because the transport industry, similar to the energy industry, has a direct effect on the viability and vitality of the state and all sectors of the economy.”
“You know that we have completed the Chita-Khabarovsk highway. <…>For the first time in its history, Russia’s territory from the Far East to Kaliningrad is linked by a single road network. That provides a great impetus to the development of our Far Eastern and Siberian territories.”