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 propose forming a uniform regulation governing interactions between the participants of construction projects that are being implemented under regional housing programmes. Such a regulation should include a clear description of mutual undertakings and approval deadlines, so that there is a basic understanding of the time it takes to hook up a newly built house to utilities or for a bank to decide on issuing a construction loan and so on.”
“There’s one more problem that has to do with the Defence Ministry’s service housing. <…> The infrastructure issues should be addressed in the same way here, and the towns should be consistent with the latest standards. Of course, we need to take inventory of existing service housing stock and see what needs to be done to bring it up to standard.”
“Social infrastructure and public utilities should also be in place, so that people can live a comfortable life in their new flats. <…> All land plots, including the ones owned by the Defence Ministry, should go to municipal authorities so that they can build the infrastructure and housing for servicemen. This land could also be used to build kindergartens, schools, roads, public utilities and so on.”
“We have limited the increase in tariffs for 2012 in most so-called natural, or more precisely, infrastructural monopolies, including heat and power supply, to the rate of inflation. This time, tariffs will be adjusted not in January as previously, but on July 1. This means that there will no longer be any economic grounds for raising the amounts that appear on utilities bills. Therefore, please deal directly with managing and utilities companies, track the situation closely in the housing and utilities sector and stop any and all attempts by these companies to get into customers’ pockets.”
“Certainly, we would like major foreign partners boasting advanced technology, modern managerial concepts, education and research programmes to invest in the domestic power industry, the housing/municipal utilities sector and other infrastructure sectors. Naturally, this implies a new level of competition and a new level of quality regarding the services being provided to Russian citizens. This is a serious incentive for domestic companies to boost their efficiency and to implement production-modernisation programmes. This will result in real modernisation which must benefit the Russian economy and every Russian citizen.”
“Russia will enjoy an immense legacy from hosting largest international forums. We must make sure that we handle them wisely. This potential, as I said, can and must serve Russia’s interests, work for future development, future progress of our country. <…>The future intended purpose of such facilities (villages, sports centres and public infrastructure) must be taken into consideration at the project development stage.”
“Electricity, water and gas networks, as well as roads and other communications must be built quickly enough for low-rise development. The construction of housing should proceed almost concurrently, but it would be even better if social facilities were built ahead of housing. I am referring above all to outpatient clinics, childcare centres, shops and schools, in short everything that should be a part of a comprehensive environment in low-rise developments.”
“Good infrastructure is a prerequisite for the competitiveness of Russian science and its ability to act as an equal partner in carrying out breakthrough international programmes, so that Russian and top foreign specialists will come to Russia in order to implement their ideas.”
“Russia is a great Arctic power. We cannot do without a strong fleet of icebreakers. We will certainly replenish our fleet of icebreaker vessels. At least three of the new generation of nuclear powered icebreakers, as well as a series of icebreakers with conventional engines, will be built from 2012 to 2020. The commissioning of these vessels will ensure the stability of year-round navigation in the Arctic, ships safe pilotage from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. This is a major undertaking that is very important for the country.”
“The Russian government and the business community are planning to carry out a fundamental modernisation of national railways. We will tailor our development plans to growing demand for shipment and create the foundation for economic growth.”
“We intend to closely link our efforts to upgrade railway infrastructure with our integration processes, such as the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space. <…>On the whole, our railways must become a powerful integrator of the entire Eurasian market, and we are ready for partnership and cooperation in this respect.”
“We need a real and significant breakthrough here: not just big, one-off projects but steady development and drastic renewal across the country’s road networks – on federal, regional, rural, and city roads.”
“To be the true masters of our own Russian market, our factories should renew their product ranges, do more to modernise their production, and introduce high-tech solutions and standards. <…>We cannot allow foreign producers to dump on our market. Yes, fair competition is possible and, indeed, necessary, but dumping cannot be tolerated.”
“We must look for an adequate price-to-quality ratio and reduce costs by increasing the scale of production and simultaneously converting to energy-efficient and high-tech products. In order to achieve this, we must carry out the industry’s holistic retooling and develop new, modern production lines. I believe that in this context, we must draw up comprehensive plans for the industry’s development in every region and every federal district. I want the governors to listen: every region must have a comprehensive plan for the development of its construction industry.”
“It should be built with the use of the most modern construction and architectural methods available, meet all standards of quality and energy efficiency, be eco-friendly, and, at the same time, remain affordable.”
“We must set more rigorous technological requirements and standards on housing construction and the production of building materials – they are the basic elements that influence the quality and final cost of construction, which is particularly important in housing.”
“The effective organisation of transport is a key condition for Moscow's successful development as a major world centre of business, science and culture. Moreover, transport services may considerably promote the economic growth of Moscow and the Moscow Region, create new jobs and generate additional tax revenues for the budgets of all levels.”
“We are planning to double the traffic of the three major Moscow airports to reach up to 100 million passengers by 2020. <…> Our main goal is to make the Moscow air hub the most important in Russia – a modern international air traffic centre operating at the highest level.”
“We are also using the assistance of foreign partners to develop the priority sphere of high-speed transportation. High-speed trains currently run on the Moscow-St Petersburg, Moscow-Nizhni Novgorod and St Petersburg-Helsinki routes. I think we should review our programme of high-speed rail transportation to commission new facilities ahead of schedule and add new routes. In particular, we should consider establishing high-speed lines between the cities that will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.”
“When it comes to World Cup football, this entails 13 cities. Yes, there will not be such large-scale infrastructure projects in all these. But, nevertheless, there is a lot of work to be done on the development of the road network, development of airport and of railway infrastructure. And if we can put together a good programme, and there are already proposals, on the development of high-speed rail traffic between all these cities, or at least between some of these cities, this would be a powerful development impetus for the entire infrastructure of the European part of the country, and this is certainly an advantage.”
“The regions should also create their own road funds. I’d like to emphasise once again that we will primarily provide assistance to the regions that set up these funds. We have drafted the necessary amendments to the Budget Code and are about to submit them to the State Duma. I’d like to ask the deputies to review the government’s proposals as a matter of priority. I’d also like to request that our colleagues in the regions promptly make all of the decisions necessary for establishing road funds.This will allow us to launch the new mechanisms for funding road construction next January.”
“It should modernise the existing system, remove the bottlenecks, fulfil the requests of oil companies to be connected to new facilities - deposits or oil refineries - and reduce the costs of transporting oil by using new technology <…>. All this is very important because we must build the necessary infrastructure in order to have a flexible and competitive market of oil and oil products”.
“Added together, an increase in known reserves, the development of new oilfields and enhanced yields at old deposits will allow Russia to maintain current production levels, roughly 500 million tonnes a year, for several decades to come. This will be enough to meet the needs of the domestic economy and to sustain exports”.
“Among the large infrastructure projects we are currently working, perhaps the most important is the completion of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline. It is already in operation - part of the pipe is ready. We are transporting it to the Pacific by rail, and a good port has been built. The leg from Skovorodino must be extended to the coast. The second extension of the Baltic pipeline system is also very important for us”.
“We are finishing the highway from Chita to Khabarovsk. In fact, this is an historic event for Russia. Russia has never been entirely connected by road through its territories. Until recently - 100 years ago, or how many, up until 1903? - in order to travel from European Russia to the Far East, people either travelled on the winter road in winter or on ships across the Indian Ocean. A railway was built by 1904, and this was because of an impending war with Japan. In Soviet times, another branch of this railroad was built as a result of deteriorating relations with China. And there was no highway at all. And now we are completing 2,500 km between Chita and Khabarovsk. And for the first time in history, Russia will be connected by roads throughout its territory - you'll be able to drive from its westernmost to its easternmost point.”
“We all understand that for Russia, with its enormous territory, the development of aviation and airports is critical. It is one of our top priorities, and we must address it in order to ensure the unity of Russia's territory and the Russian nation. Air transportation in Russia is currently booming. Passenger air travel has not only recovered since the crisis, it has exceeded the peak reached in 2008. In January-May, 2010 air travel increased by 32.3% against the same period of 2009. These trends are directly related to the growing capacity of Russian airports.”
“Another issue the new technical regulations will address is establishing a legal framework for introducing high-speed passenger service so that in the future administrative barriers do not hamper the design and construction of new lines. As you know, in addition to the line from Moscow to St. Petersburg, high-speed trains will start running between Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Helsinki and, in the future, in other areas, for example to and from Smolensk, which will allow us to establish a high-speed railway connection with our major European partners. I have also instructed those responsible to look into the possibility of bringing high-speed rail to Siberia.”
“Progress has also been slow on updating the regulatory framework for electronic bidding and applying it to road construction. Finally, we effectively lack a mechanism that would ensure the stability and predictability of funding for road construction, while it is clear that the successful implementation of expensive and capital-intensive projects is impossible if the amount of funds allocated for the project can change at any moment. So, we need to more clearly define government and private sources of financing for infrastructure. This applies to both large, strategic construction projects and our ongoing maintenance commitments”.
“I would like to emphasize that infrastructure development must be accompanied by serious investments in safety. It is essential that we guarantee a new level of anti-terrorism security, fire safety and technical monitoring of the tracks and rolling stock. Under the plan, 4.5 billion roubles will be invested to enhance railway safety in 2010.”
“It is necessary to increase the capacity of our railways in Baltic and Pacific ports considerably. They should operate as effective logistical hubs. We're talking about the reconstruction of the Mga-Gatchina-Ivangorod line and the railway providing access to the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. We're also talking about and the Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Sovetskay Gavan line, which will help develop the ports of Vanino, Sovetskaya Gavan and some other areas.”
“In 2009, the cost of freight carriage was supposed to increase by almost 16%, 15.9%to be exact, but in reality it did not increase by more than 10.6%. This took a burden off the real economy during a difficult crisis year by cutting transport expenses. We will continue to keep tariff increases under control this year.”
“Our priorities here? First, we must concentrate on the development of high-speed passenger rail along the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod line and the railway from St Petersburg to the Finnish border. The Moscow-St Petersburg line showed that high-speed rail is in much demand. Second, we must continue building a railway to connect Yakutsk with the general railway network.”
“A large number of important documents outlining the future of the industry were adopted in 2008, primarily the Strategy for Developing Russia's Railway Transport up to 2030 and the targeted federal programme for developing Russia's transport network through 2015. <…>I would like to start by saying that these plans remain in place despite the economic difficulties we and the rest of the world are experiencing.”
“It was so important for us not to scale back our construction projects or waste the experience acquired while implementing major projects during the downturn in 2009. Government support to Russian Railways in 2009 amounted to a handsome 130 billion roubles. Reimbursement for lower freight tariffs added up to 40.5 billion roubles; 38.4 billion roubles went in subsidies for discounted long-distance travel by students; 41.5 billion roubles for infrastructure construction in Sochi, six billion roubles to build a detour around the man-made disaster area in Beryozniki, and three billion roubles to purchase railway carriages from the Tver rail car plant. In addition, Russian Railways saved almost 900 million roubles - 890 million roubles, to be exact - on import duties for Sapsan high-speed trains.”
“The Russian Railways investment programme for 2010 amounts to 270.5 billion roubles. The amount of support from the federal budget will even be increased slightly, to 140 billion roubles. In other words, the government is again taking on more than half of all expenses for modernisation and new construction projects. The government will allocate 50 billion roubles to compensate Russian Railways for the indexation of lower freight tariffs, 27.8 billion roubles to partially subsidise long-distance economy-class travel and 60 billion roubles for the construction of transport infrastructure in Sochi.”
“The processes of building additional generating facilities, development of distribution grids and shaping an energy market are closely interrelated. If energy deficit persists and getting connected to power grids remains a problem, what we are likely to get in the end is a "quasi-market" controlled by monopolies, while the interests of consumers, the economy, and the country are simply ignored. We must certainly prevent this situation and we are determined to do so. Our mission is to create the most favourable environment for growth.”
“Under the project, the plant's 10 hydropower units are to be replaced with new ones of the same capacity but with improved characteristics. They are to be produced by Power Machines under a contract estimated at 11.7 billion roubles. Six power units are to be supplied in 2011 and the remaining four in 2012. On the whole, investment in the reconstruction and modernisation of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant will reach some 37 billion roubles.”
“Active construction of power units, modernisation of power plants and decommissioning of expensive, resource-wasting and inefficient facilities. During the reform of RAO UES, the new owners made serious commitments to invest in the development of the Russian power industry. A part of these commitments was financed by the issue of additional shares. They attracted approximately 450 billion roubles. <…>According to the latest data, however, only 270 billion roubles of the above sum were spent directly on the implementation of investment projects, and 66 billion roubles were spent on current operation of the company, including the purchase of non-core assets that are not connected to the power industry. <…>Let me tell you this straight away, for you not to take offence later: Penal sanctions will be used against those who "consume" the resources earmarked for investment or, worse still, pull these resources out of the business.”
“The commissioning of generating facility should be coordinated with the construction of a relevant grid infrastructure. Otherwise, starting new generators and boosting capacity becomes pointless. There are two companies in Russia responsible for development of power grids, state controlled Federal Grid Company and Interregional Distribution Grid Company. Let me warn their management that their fulfillment of obligations will be strictly monitored as well. Natural gas should also be promptly supplied to the new generating plants.”
“We formulated the following tasks. The first was to prevent the collapse of the dam in the harsh winter conditions in Siberia, meaning spillways, etc. We also needed to organise the plant's reconstruction, ensure the enhanced operation of the other generating power plants, first of all thermal power plants in the region, and to prepare the grid system for additional loads in winter to ensure the supply of electricity needed by consumers. Of course, all of these goals were set for the medium term but it was very important to attain them. I'd like to tell you about our results in this area. We have successfully achieved all of the goals.”
“As much as 5.8 billion roubles was allocated for the plant's reconstruction in 2009; 2.8 billion roubles was provided for the construction of the onshore spillway. The plant's sixth power unit was restarted today, which is a psychologically vital landmark. The event is also crucial for organisation and production because it will lower the load on Siberia's energy system and other generating facilities in the country. In addition, it is important for redistributing the load within the grid in a more balanced manner, which should ultimately lead to lowering electricity tariffs.”
"In addition, the Housing and Utilities Reform Fund is ready to finance, in 2010, capital repairs of residential blocks and help people still living in dilapidated and dangerous buildings to move to new housing. The Fund will provide up to 80 billion roubles for this purpose. The most important issue here is that regional governments prepare appropriate applications for financing in time. They should keep in mind that every such application means better quality of life for thousands of people".
"I would like to talk about our plans for developing federal roads. This clearly requires increasing the amount of construction and modernizing the road network already in use. To achieve this, we have to attract business investment in addition to government funding and make use of concessions and other mechanisms for private public partnership. The state company Rosavtodor, which has been established to meet the aforementioned challenges, will begin operations in 2010. Today we have to approve the company's 6-year period programme."
"That is why we are going to amend fire safety regulations and make changes in the Criminal Code and the Administrative Offences Code. I am confident this will help stop those who literally play with fire trying to make some easy money."
"The plans to develop our power facilities, and these are big plans, will be implemented. In the past ten years, we commissioned 13000 MW of capacity, but we plan to commission 10000 MW of capacity within the next two years. These are challenging plans, and they also concern the Boguchany hydroelectric power plant located nearby, in Siberia."
"We cannot support all our infrastructure monopolies from the budget, because we also need funds to fulfil our social obligations, including raising pensions. But we will do that to some extent, like we did last year. We have promised to give 25 billion roubles to Russian Railways but we will manage, ultimately, to increase the sum, as a minimum, to 50 billion in 2010, as it was this year."
"As you know, we are in the final stages of an extensive programme to finish construction on more than 17 major bridges. Construction began in the Soviet era but was later stopped. But these are very important infrastructure facilities, and construction on them will be finished this year. We'll even exceed the quota by building one extra bridge. Today, I signed an executive order prepared by the Transport Ministry establishing bridges and roads in need of repair. This includes many facilities - in Vologda, Novaya Ladoga in the Vologda Region, the Saimaa Canal, the Krasnodar Territory in the south, St Petersburg, the Moscow Region, the Don, Volgograd, and the city of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky on the border with Ukraine."
"Operating without accidents and meeting the demands of the economy and ordinary people are the main criteria by which we must evaluate the effectiveness of an energy system. Clearly, this can be achieved by thoroughly modernising electric power stations and distribution networks, and by refurbishing obsolete facilities with reliable cutting-edge, high-capacity equipment. I believe that safety and quality must form the basis of the technical rules that regulate the generation and distribution of power. These regulations should be prepared as soon as possible."
"VEB is also reviewing its participation in the development of new shipbuilding facilities in the Russian Far East. I am referring to the project at the Zvezda plant. It is these companies, equipped with latest technology, that are being created from scratch that will be able to restore the position of Russian shipbuilding in the global market and meet the growing demands of Russian companies for tankers to transport oil and petroleum products, and LNG in the future."
"We should prevent an increase in overdue debt for the resources supplied by the utilities. These debts currently exceed 158 billion roubles, including 10 billion roubles owned by government financed services and agencies."
