Mikhail Mishustin: “To ensure comprehensive and long-term planning, we have approved a five-year programme to build transport, utility and social infrastructure using budget funds. It includes more than 6,500 facilities worth over 4.5 trillion roubles.”
Mikhail Mishustin’s opening remarks:
Strategic session on advanced infrastructure development
Colleagues, good afternoon.
In my report to the State Duma, I spoke in detail about our plans aimed at creating comfortable living conditions for people all across the country. This is one of the key tasks outlined by the President, so today we will discuss the issues of advanced development of transport, as well as utility and social infrastructure.
In order to ensure comprehensive and long-term planning, a five-year programme has been approved to build such facilities with the use of budgetary funds. More than 6,500 of these facilities are included in the programme, amounting to a total cost of more than 4.5 trillion roubles.
The construction sector is actively developing, despite the sanctions pressure and other external factors. Over the past three years, the volume of work there has grown by almost 15 percent.
In 2022, record levels of housing construction were achieved. As a result, over 3.5 million families were able to improve their living conditions.
In line with the President’s instructions, preferential mortgage programmes are continuing. They must support both our people and the industry.
It is important to take all necessary measures to maintain the pace we have gained. Now we will elaborate on all the issues related to this.
And let us get down to discussions.
It is also necessary to strengthen the personnel potential of the construction sector and educate a new generation of young professionals. It will be difficult to develop and master new technologies without qualified specialists.
And here the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering is the leading university. Mr Khusnullin, I believe that an international campus should be created there. We were talking about world-class campuses, and if we can find the necessary finances and develop a programme, then such an application should be submitted to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science. I would like to ask you to work out this issue so that everything is prepared.
I am absolutely sure that the school of our builders and engineers has survived intact. And I hope that this can be implemented.
The reduction of logistics costs and ease of movement of people is another priority. In order to do this, it is necessary to ensure the accelerated development of the road network, primarily the backbone roads, which will reliably connect the territories of our large country. The president outlined clear guidelines in this area. I note that the construction of the M-12 Vostok highway from Moscow to Kazan should be completed as soon as this year, that is, ahead of schedule.
The total amount of funding for the five-year plan for road activities is almost 13 trillion roubles. These are impressive resources. And now we need to implement everything that was planned consistently and, most importantly, effectively. We will constantly monitor this sphere.
A significant amount of the work work that is to be carried out is related to the renovation of regional roads. Decisions have already been made to provide the Russian regions with about 140 billion roubles of treasury loans for such purposes.
Following the president’s instructions, another 50 billion roubles will be allocated under special treasury loans for up to 15 years to upgrade public transport, including the purchase of domestic buses.
A major programme has also been launched to upgrade utility infrastructure and build up-to-date engineering networks so that people are less likely to face domestic inconveniences, water and heating cuts.
We will continue to pay great attention to the improvement of public spaces. At the same time, we will begin to actively apply innovative technologies, in particular smart lighting systems. And of course, it is important to take into consideration the opinion of the people who live there, the very feedback that the president always tells us about when making urban planning decisions.
Yesterday, at the meeting with deputy prime ministers, I said that the nationwide vote on which locations should be beautified first has been launched. The voting process will continue until the end of May. People will choose which public gardens, parks, yards, pedestrian streets and embankments should be transformed in order for areas to become comfortable to live in. The urban environment should be not only beautiful, but also very functional and modern.
Colleagues,
I suggest discussing the current situation in the construction sector, the whole range of possible measures that will ensure its sustainable and long-term development in the interests of our citizens and the Russian economy as a whole.
