The Government is considering beefing up the monopoly's investment programmes.
Developing infrastructure projects in a difficult economic situation is a sure way out of the crisis. This is an axiom. Prime Minister Putin told a meeting on the development of transport infrastructure in 2009, held in St Petersburg yesterday, that the Government would increase investments in the transport infrastructure by 100 billion roubles (to 550 billion roubles) compared with 2008.
"This year, in spite of all the difficulties we are not reducing but increasing allocations for the development of the transport system. We see this approach as a key anti-crisis measure which will not only create additional jobs but lay down the infrastructure for the development of the Russian economy after the crisis", Mr Putin said.
He announced that 312 billion roubles would be invested in road building and repair. To maintain the pace of road building the ratio of funding by the federal and regional authorities has been changed. "The federal budget will pay 95% of the cost and the regional budgets only 5%," Mr Putin said.
He paid special attention to the development of railway transport. Russian Railways may get an additional 100 billion roubles of state subsidies. Back in December 2008 at a meeting on railway transport Vladimir Putin said the state would contribute 50 billion roubles to Russian Railways' authorized capital.
In what form the 100 billion will be made available was not clear from Mr Putin's remarks, but Transport Minister Igor Levitin said after the meeting that his Ministry was asking the Government to support the move to increase Russian Railways authorized capital by that amount. Earlier Mr Putin mentioned the possibility of direct investments in Russian Railways' authorized capital at a meeting on the problems of the railway transport.
Mr Levitin said that Russian Railways could contribute only 250 billion roubles on the investment programme whereas in November 2008 the investment programme was estimated at 434 billion. Prime Minister Putin asked his deputy Sergey Ivanov to see if the investment programme could be increased. As Mr Levitin said, specific sums were not mentioned, so more money could be channeled into Russian Railways' authorized capital over and above the stated 100 billion roubles.
The Government justifies its financial injections by pointing out that Russian Railways missed a significant part of its revenues in 2009. Under an amended plan cargo carriage tariffs would grow by 12% in 2009 instead of the targeted 18.7%. From January 1 tariffs rose by 5% and not by 14% as originally planned. Also, the Government has to compensate Russian Railways for subsidized fares for school and university students.
Mr Putin said in December that Russian Railways needed to attract 200 billion roubles: 100 billion to pursue its investment programmes and another 100 billion to refinance its debts. At the time he suggested that Russian Railways issue 150 billion roubles worth of bonds. However, in March 2009 Russian Railways issued only 30 billion roubles worth of bonds.
Andrei Biryukov
