Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is pleased with preparations for the APEC summit
The year 2012 will be a turning point for the Far East. Vladivostok will play host to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which will be an opportunity for the region to update its transportation and energy infrastructure and also to receive investment.
The summit will take place on Russky Island. Now it is only possible to reach Vladivostok by a half hour ferry journey across the water. However, the foundations of a bridge connecting the island with the mainland have already been laid.
The Far Eastern Federal University will move to the island after the summit. It will occupy 220 hectares of land for administrative and educational buildings, a congress centre, as well as 11 hotels accommodating 5,500 people, which will become student dormitories and apartments for teachers after the summit.
Aras Agalarov's company Crocus International is the lead contractor for this project. Sergei Nedelko, deputy director of production, explained that each square meter of construction will cost 74,000 roubles. In total its 657,000 square meters will cost almost $1.5 billion, all of which has been allocated from the budget.
Construction on the complex started last year. Yesterday Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived on Russky Island. "There is no rush but delays are inadmissible," he said before a meeting on the preparation of facilities for the 2012 APEC summit in Vladivostok. "There are 26 months before the end of construction," Nedelko noted.
"Arguments and disputes on venues for these events, and real estate development are not only inevitable but absolutely necessary... We have weighed up all the pros and cons and have come to the conclusion that we must not miss this unique opportunity for the city (Vladivostok - Gazeta)," Putin said.
He said that now one of the main problems is to resolve the social issues and relocate people as soon as possible. "We have a problem with private houses. About 20 families do not want to move into new housing," Putin's Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov explained.
Putin asked Andrei Belyaninov, head of the Federal Customs Service, to consider opening a temporary customs point on the island. Vladivostok's airport is also being rebuilt.
Putin said that dozens of billions of roubles had already been invested into the construction of the new infrastructure in Vladivostok, and another 71 billion roubles will be invested next year. The total cost is estimated at 202 billion roubles.
Motorways and a third aqueduct will be built in Vladivostok especially for the summit. Its solid waste landfill will be reclaimed. Also new waste disposal plants, hotels and other facilities will be built in Vladivostok.
Andrei Biryukov