The presidential envoy to the North Caucasian Federal District, Alexander Khloponin, having familiarized himself with situation in the region, has marked out four clusters which are to become a driving force of economic development.
The first cluster will focus on the potential of big companies in energy sector, the second on tourism, the third on agriculture, while the fourth, a cluster of innovations and industry will have to be created situation from scratch, as experts have noted. The region lacks qualified scientists and engineers, and there is a very low quantity of innovative enterprises in the region. A federal university centre is being created to provide skilled personnel. Some educational institutions will be taken under industrial giants’ patronage.
Guest workers will get an alternative.
The necessity of new educational institutions is indicated even by the fact that in some North Caucasus republics 30 % of the population is made up of young people. In Dagestan it is practically impossible to find a job without money or connections. However, due to the lack of access to quality education, young people can not fulfill themselves even in other Russian regions, unless they take up employment as “guest workers” deprived of any rights. It is no wonder that many young people go to the countries of the Middle East, and study there in religious colleges and sometimes become members of strange sects. Local students are influenced by them. Now there are strong hopes in Dagestan that an alternative has appeared.
Energy to allow for growth
Khloponin has called the energy sector the first cluster, probably due to the fact that it will have to provide the growing need of other clusters with electrical power, and North Caucasus Federal District republics have a great potential for mastering renewable source of cheap electric power. Dagestani experts previously considered energy companies as large investors, but now these companies are overloaded with problems, which makes them unattractive for investors. Previously in Dagestan the power supply system was a budget-forming field, but now divided power companies pay paltry taxes, and some ended the year with a loss.
Dagestan lacks its own resources necessary for the subsequent growth of priority sectors of the economy, Although there are more power stations in Dagestan than in other republics, the electricity they generate is barely enough to meet the current needs in winter, despite the fact that electricity consumption in the republic per capita is lower than in other regions.
Where billions of rubles and kilowatt-hours go
Power engineering specialists say that as living standards rise, the consumption of electricity grows. But the director of the Dagestan subsidiary of the Joint Institute for High Temperatures Abdullah Amadziev is of another opinion. According to him, Dagestanis per person consume much less electricity than the average amount for Russia. There is a human development index, which calculates how much energy is consumed per capita. So, if most of Russia consumes 5500 kilowatt-hours per capita, Dagestan consumes an amount of only 1,500 kilowatt-hours per capital. In total, Dagestan produces more than 5 billion, and consumes 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. Where is the “power leak”? Although it is known that technical losses can not exceed 10%, according to representatives of energy companies, they reach up to 40%. Some amount of the energy is stolen.
Who benefits from being unprofitable
Theft and losses are connected with the problems of network companies, which can not provide the population with an uninterrupted electricity supply. Firstly, due to decrepitude of networks, especially situated in urban areas, and secondly, because of a crisis in payments. Municipal unitary enterprises are indebted to the subsidiary of Interregional Distribution Network Company «North Caucasian" - Open Joint Stock Company "Dagestan Energy Retail Company". Representatives of the network company - another subsidiary of the Interregional Distribution Network Company Open Joint Stock Company "Dagenergo" have stated that they suffer losses. Several municipal unitary enterprises that are responsible for the power networks of cities of Dagestan also remain unprofitable. As a result, dilapidating networks are being updated more slowly, and prices in Dagestan grow quickly. For example, on average in 2009, prices rose by 25% in Russia and by 35% in Dagestan, although the cost of hydroelectric power plants is lower than that of heat and power plant. In addition, the state allocated about 2 billion rubles for cross-subsidizing in order to compensate the losses after the division of the energy system.
Consumers used to blackouts
Blackouts have become commonplace for two reasons. Firstly, because of the emergency situations, which have already started being taken for granted. Secondly, suppliers do not posses the technical possibilities necessary to separate malicious defaulters from bona fide customers. Branches of open joint stock company Interregional Distribution Network Company of Dagestan and the urban network accuse each over the blackouts, but nobody takes responsibility. No matter how many government meetings are devoted to this problem, including ones with the participation of authorized representatives! But they fail to deal with debts. The debt of municipal unitary enterprise "Makhachkala city electric networks" to the subsidiary of Interregional Distribution Network Company of the Open Joint Stock Company "Dagestan Energy Retail Company" has been discussed for several years.
Alternative sources
Modernization, investment by large companies, and the creation of competitive conditions are hindered by clannishness, or the control conducted by individual families over entire sectors of the economy. Power engineering specialists like to exaggerate the prospects of hydroelectric power plants, but experts believe that it is not necessary to confine all the activities to their construction. Moreover, the alienation of land for the reservoirs and payment of indemnities to landowners require considerable expenditure. Experts are convinced that in the energy cluster, hydroelectric power plants must compete with alternative energy sources, particularly with wind and sun based ones. According to Abdullah Amadziev, reserves of alternative sources are 300 times as great as one year's consumption of electricity in Dagestan. Nevertheless, the government of the republic failed to find 1.5 million rubles for the development of nanotechnology programs last year.
Clusters should foster the economic integration of the North Caucasian Federal District, and their interdependence should give impetus to stable growth. All four clusters will require innovations, personnel and electricity. Tourism will entail small business sectors such as consumer services, agricultural production of natural fruits and vegetables and folk handicrafts. The guarantee of agro-holdings’ effectiveness would be the absence of middlemen, and, hence, the price markup on products. For this agricultural holdings must have their own raw materials, processing, packaging and marketing. The whole cycle concentrated in the hands of one manager reduces costs, increases output and will promote local brands to the all-Russian market.
Musa Muasev. Exclusively for VC
