Government meeting.
Excerpts from Dmitry Medvedev’s opening remarks:
At a Government meeting
Industrial and technology parks are a relatively new, but truly key, institution. Their task is clear: to increase the share of the non-raw materials sector in the Russian economy. At the same time, they must boost the number of high-tech production facilities and channel additional revenues into the budgets of all levels, primarily regional budgets.
Many successful projects implemented at technology parks can serve as an example of building relations between the state and the private sector, and we already have such examples.
The institution of industrial and technology parks is growing dynamically, despite the current complicated economic conditions. The number of parks continues to increase and, importantly, these companies are truly operational organisations that do not merely exist on paper or are in the process of getting established. They are planning to launch new projects, and their number is significant.
In late 2015, total industrial output of industrial parks’ residents exceeded 480 billion roubles. Industrial and technology parks remain highly popular with foreigners. Currently, hundreds of foreign companies and enterprises with foreign capital, including European and Asian, representatives of major concerns and global brands, are operating there. They are implementing projects in the most diverse areas, including the automotive industry, the machine-tool sector, pharmaceutics, the food industry and others.
We are implementing a number of support measures for industrial parks. A special database has been established that makes it easier to search, and national standards and requirements for these parks have been formulated. We are also providing financial assistance. For example, Russian regions can obtain federal budget subsidies reimbursing them for their infrastructure expenses.
We’ll discuss a list of 15 new projects that are eligible for state support. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has selected preliminary candidates. We’ll allot subsidies to regions where new industrial and technology parks will be launched.
These technology parks have a wide-ranging and multi-sector specialisation. They are set to expand projects in various areas such as metallurgy, consumer electronics, household appliances, auto parts, construction materials, the machine tool and wood-working sectors, as well as transport, agricultural and special purpose engineering, pharmaceutics, the medical industry and others.
Numerous technology parks have already been established in Moscow, and this business sector is developing very actively. These are precisely the areas that investors are ready to finance. Despite problems in other sectors and the current economic crisis, this does not impair the intensity of their operation, at least in Moscow.
