The Prime Minister toured the exhibition and spoke at a plenary session Transport Infrastructure: Balancing Public and Private Interests. He also presented state awards to employees of the transport sector.
Mikhail Mishustin’s remarks at the forum plenary meeting
Friends, participants, guests, good afternoon,
I am glad to welcome all of you to the international transport forum. For almost two decades, it has been the leading expert platform for discussing the key issues related to the industry’s development. We are looking for effective solutions and responses to current and future challenges.
Forum participants sign important agreements on strengthening public-private cooperation, achieve understandings on building the most advanced infrastructure in Russian regions, and establish useful cooperative ties. I would like to welcome in particular the delegations from friendly countries, which are here in this room. Our mutually beneficial partnership has been tested by years of working together and by large-scale joint projects.
We invite all colleagues, who share Russia’s course for creating a new international logistical scheme, a scheme that is stable and independent, to join us.
The Russian transport system not only withstood an unprecedented pressure of sanctions but also continues to move forward with much confidence. According to preliminary estimates, the industry’s contribution to gross domestic product will reach nearly 6 percent at the yearend, or over 13 trillion rubles.
There are undoubtedly many problems left. But they are progressively dealt with. And this is an incontestable reality that is confirmed by the correct measures we take and is, which is quite important, a pledge of our wellbeing.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin stressed that the quality of life of the millions ща people and the sustainable development of cities, villages and this entire country hinged on a reliable and seamless communication. In all, about 11.5 billion passengers have been transported over nine months of this year. The growth for inland waterways has reached almost 22 percent. There are also improvements in performance at railways and in urban transportation.
Freight carriage has exceeded 6 billion tonnes. Importantly, a steady build-up of traffic is observed on strategic international routes. Freight turnover with friendly countries has grown by 4 percent. Specifically, rail exports in the easterly direction have surged by almost 6.5 percent.
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition. The stand of the Federal Air Transport Agency
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition. The stand of the Federal Air Transport Agency
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition. With Minister of Transport Andrei Nikitin at the opening ceremony for new transport facilities
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition. The stand of the Federal Air Transport Agency
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition. With Vitaly Savelyev and Marat Khusnullin
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition. With CEO – Chairman of the Management Board of Russian Railways PLC, Oleg Belozyorov
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition. With Vitaly Savelyev, Marat Khusnullin and Minister of Transport Andrei Nikitin
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition. With CEO – Chairman of the Management Board of Russian Railways PLC, Oleg Belozyorov, Vitaly Savelyev and Minister of Transport Andrei Nikitin
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition
Mikhail Mishustin’s remarks at the forum plenary meeting
Mikhail Mishustin tours the Transport of Russia exhibition. The stand of the Federal Air Transport Agency
To strengthen connectivity on a systemic basis, we upgrade and expand infrastructure in the regions. Let me remind you that considerable funds are being allocated for these purposes.
Over the past five years, we have allocated 8 trillion roubles to implement the related state programme, Development of the Transport System. This year, we will provide another 1.5 trillion or more. The draft three-year federal budget has passed the second reading at the State Duma, and we have set aside almost 6 trillion roubles by way of preparing for the third reading.
Since January, we have launched a new national project, Effective Transport System, to provide additional support for priority areas. This is a very extensive comprehensive programme. Its overall funding for the first three years will amount to over 0.5 trillion roubles, with almost 135 billion to be allocated this year.
It is important that each invested rouble be used very effectively.
Private investment is yet another powerful resource for the industry’s development. Its role is increasingly important with each passing year. The business community has its largest assets in the transport sphere.
A case in point is last year’s concession agreement to build this country’s first high-speed railway between Moscow and St Petersburg. This will be one of the largest projects in present-day Russia.
The rails are being produced and car bodies for the new train are being welded at our enterprises at full steam. The key is to maintain the pace.
Just today Vitaly Savelyev demonstrated the monitoring system designed by our University of Transport, an advanced school of engineering, to see how all the project components are being realised. It is possible to watch online how the railway itself is being constructed.
As well as how airfield infrastructure is being built and upgraded. Such initiatives are launched now in the form of public-private partnership and they already help developing air hubs in Salekhard, Omsk and Gorno-Altaisk.
We have six years to fulfil a very complex task, given the country’s size, to integrate all types of transport into a single core network. And build up its capacity considerably. It will require radical changes in the approaches to organising logistics, just what the President spoke about in detail at the forum yesterday. Today, it is transport that probably should use the Artificial Intelligence most actively. Mr Savelyev, colleagues, we should certainly work on this.
To this end, we need to unite the efforts of the regions, business people, academia, construction and industrial sectors and many other branches of the economy. It is important to act consistently and in a coordinated manner to achieve all the set goals as fast as possible.
One of the serious challenges involves further development of the air service. Flights should become more convenient, safer and more affordable.
The first results of this work are already being materialised.
Six air terminals — in Novokuznetsk, Tyumen, Mineralnye Vody, Yoshkar-Ola, Khabarovsk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky — have been put into operation since the beginning of the year. By the way, I visited some of them during my working trips.
We have just inaugurated two more terminals, in Murmansk and Izhevsk, in the course of our tour of the exhibition. We have also seen plans to modernise airports in Chita and Grozny and to build an absolutely new airport in the vicinity of Sheregesh ski resort.
It is important that such facilities ensure a high standard of servicing passengers, at the level of the best world practices, which raises the tourist attractiveness of the regions, increases business activity and encourages the emergence of new points of growth. Taken together, all this is a powerful catalyst and multiplier for the development of related industries.
Another critical focus is our national road construction programme, which commenced in January as part of the new Infrastructure for Life national project.
In the first nine months alone, over 74 percent of the federal motorway network was brought up to the required standard.
Substantial new infrastructure projects have been completed and are now operational in diverse regions nationwide. Most recently, the President inaugurated new and reconstructed roads in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Dagestan, Krasnodar Territory, and the Sverdlovsk and Leningrad regions.
Today, we officially opened several motorways, such as the first stage of the Volgograd bypass and a new section of the M-12 Vostok motorway in the Sverdlovsk Region.
We are also making significant progress on the programme to construct 50 city bypasses by 2030, with one-third of the work already complete. These bypasses, long-awaited by local residents, are now reducing traffic congestion, enhancing road safety, and improving the local environment.
Overall, over 1,500 kilometres of new, high-quality roads will be opened for traffic this year, with a further 26,000 kilometres scheduled for repair.
Nevertheless, only two-thirds of large cities currently have access to Russia’s backbone road network that meets the high standards now in place. This inevitably affects transport connectivity and quality of life. The Ministry of Transport must therefore intensify its efforts in close cooperation with the regions.
Developing access roads to educational, medical, and sports facilities, as well as tourist attractions, remains a priority. To that end, approximately 8,000 kilometres of roads were paved in the first nine months of this year, improving access to more than 2,000 such sites. These are concrete, visible and tangible results that make the daily lives of our citizens more comfortable, and such positive changes are becoming increasingly common across the country.
Similar progress is evident in public transportation, which is not only accessible but also efficient, accounting for approximately 70 percent of all passenger journeys.
This year, our regions will receive 4,500 new buses, trolleybuses, trams, and electric buses. Replacing outdated fleet allows us to expand route networks, introduce new services, and implement intelligent transport systems, ultimately making our cities more liveable.
Colleagues,
Everything I have talked about is, of course, just a small share of the enormous systemic work the state is doing in cooperation with businesses.
Passenger and cargo transportation must become a modern, comprehensive, technology-intensive and smart service that relies on numerous factors, with optimal routes and delivery methods by land, air and sea, with human or machine involvement depending on a specific job and based on the latest Russian AI models. We should not forget this.
We continue to build an integrated smoothly operating mechanism that will incorporate all modes of transport and become one of the most progressive and innovative industries in Russia.
The second extremely complicated task is to increase the global competitiveness of Russian international routes.
I am primarily talking about the Azov and Black Sea routes as well as the eastern directions and the North – South corridor. Freight traffic along these routes is expected to grow by 50 percent compared to 2021 within the next five years. This is the benchmark we have set for ourselves.
State border checkpoints are important links in the supply chain. Mr Savelyev has been dealing with this matter personally for many years, monitoring the modernisation of this infrastructure. Millions of vehicles pass through checkpoints every year – and their number is growing. We work on improving inspection procedures to reduce waiting times and eliminate chokepoints.
We implement digital solutions, one being an electronic queue management system. In early October, the system was launched at the Verkhny Lars checkpoint on the border with Georgia and revealed its high potential. We must certainly scale up this practice and accelerate the modernisation of all inspection equipment.
Another important transport corridor is the Trans-Arctic Corridor. Its key section passes along the Northern Sea Route. The corridor has great potential and competitive advantages, being the shortest and safest connection between Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region.
China, India and other countries have expressed interest in cooperation on this route. We are open to mutually beneficial joint projects.
We are reinforcing our icebreaker fleet to boost Arctic operations. On Tuesday, the President attended the keel-laying ceremony at the Baltic Shipyard for the seventh nuclear icebreaker named Stalingrad.
We continue to develop the coastal infrastructure in the northern latitudes – in particular, the ports of Murmansk, Sabetta, Dikson and Pevek, as well as land-based access roads.
Exactly one year ago at this forum, I said that Russia needs transport engineers.
The demand continues to grow. In the next five years, we must train tens of thousands of young professionals with new digital skills and advanced competence.
We have decided to establish nine research centres focused on the major sectors. Specialised higher education institutions have developed curricula for future professionals in high-speed railway engineering, autonomous transport, unmanned ship navigation, and quantum technology.
We should also remember about training highly qualified manual workers. Train mechanics and bus drivers will remain highly sought-after for many years ahead.
I would like to ask heads of regions, top managers of educational institutions and specialised companies to monitor this issue.
Friends,
I would like to take this opportunity and congratulate you and the teams you represent, all transport professionals, on Transport Worker’s Day. Congratulations to you and your colleagues.
As always, I want to thank distinguished veterans of this industry.
Friends, each of you is working for the sake of Russian people’s well-being.
I am confident that this forum will bring out new proposals and ideas to successfully overcome current and future challenges, and open further opportunities for expanding mutually beneficial cooperation.
More to be posted soon…
