The North Caucasus: program for the future

Evgeni Nikolaychuk, exclusively to VK

The Russian government plans to invest 1.7 trillion rubles in the development of the Northernern Caucasus; the Chechen Republic will get part of these funds. As a result of the visit to Grozny of the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, where he had a meeting with the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, a special program of development till 2025 will be adopted before the end of the year.

Medvedev assured that, as before, he is planning to personally control the development of the North Caucasus, because he thinks that the development of the regions is one of the most important national priorities. "Nowadays the main instrument for strengthening the socio-economic sphere of the region is the three major federal programs: the "South of Russia" program and the programs of the development of the Chechen Republic and the Republic of Ingushetia. We have invested more than 130 billion rubles in these programs, including 120 billion rubles from the federal budget, for the last four years only", - the Prime Minister said, recalling that the government made a decision on providing state guarantees amounting to about 50 billion rubles in the current year.

According to the Prime Minister, the new state program integrates existing federal programs of increasing investment attraction and tourism development in the North Caucasus Federal District, as well as the sub-regional development of each subject of the district. "I hope this will let us use public funds more effectively and concentrate them on the priorities of the development of the Northern Caucasus and to prevent duplication of activities", -  the Prime Minister said

The program of regional development was to be adopted in 2011, but it has not been done yet. At the meeting in Grozny the Prime Minister required to accelerate the completion of the project and said that it should be introduced before the 1st of December "This deadline will not be transferred any more. It is high time to begin to work practically ", - he said.
 
Ministry of Regional Development has planned three phases of budget financing of the state program up to 2025, Oleg Govorun, Regional Development Minister, said. The years of 2013-2015 are considered to be the phase of the basic step; its total cost is estimated at 424.2 billion rubles, including 95 billion rubles from the federal budget. At the same time, since 2012 the SKFD state programs and FTP funding will be ceased.  In 2012 the implementation of federal target program "Social-economic development of the Chechen Republic" will be completed, in 2013 the program "South of Russia” will be also completed. The federal target funding of the territorial subjects of the district after 2014, except Ingushetia, is still not determined

Another topic was the development of tourism cluster projects in the North Caucasus. “The North Caucasus Resorts" includes eight resorts: Matlas and the Caspian coastal cluster in Dagestan, Mamison in North Ossetia, Elbrus-Bezengi in Kabardino-Balkaria, Arkhyz in Karachaevo-Cherkessia, Lagonaki in the Krasnodar Territory and Armkhi and Tsori in Ingushetia. Dmitri Medvedev promised to include the recreation complex Veduchi which is being constructed in the Chechen Republic in the project of the tourism cluster in the Northern Caucasus Federal District, Krasnodar Krai and the Republic of Adygea.

"I will give instructions to revise the project of the governmental decision on including the Chechen Republic to the project of  the tourism cluster, so that you can also participate in it" - the prime minister answered to the address of Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya.

Dmitry Medvedev called  the Chechen Republic the most actively developing subject of the SKFD at the moment and emphasized that the development of tourism, in his opinion, was the most powerful unifying component of the development of the North Caucasus regions.

According to Ramzan Kadyrov, who has addressed to the Prime Minister with a request to include his republic into a tourist cluster, the government of Chechnya, has done a lot on preparing investment projects in tourism as a sector that can create a significant number of jobs.

"The implementation of our project Veduchi is very important for us because it will create more than two thousand jobs, will also attract a significant number of tourists, support the economy of mountain areas, improve the investment image of the republic, and support the tourism," –Kadyrov said. Unique natural and climatic conditions, rich cultural heritage and traditions, as well as the positive investment climate of the economy, according to Kadyrov, will ensure the success of the new project.

It is interesting that the representatives of "The Northern Caucasus Resorts" with registered capital of 5.4 billion rubles have already raised the question of the creation of additional infrastructure. These projects, as well as a new resort, became the base of the question of the company’s own capitalization, which could include 63 billion rubles, 40 billion of which the company plans to invest in providing the infrastructure of the Caspian coastal cluster in Dagestan;13 billion rubles will be invested in the resorts Tsori and Armkhi in Ingushetia and 10 billion rubles will be invested in the resort" Veduchi, the idea of Ramzan Kadyrov.

According to the results of the meeting of governmental commission on economic and social development of the Northern Caucasus Federal District a number of decisions aimed at the development of the tourism cluster in the region will be implemented. In particular, the decision to provide the tourism cluster with infrastructure facilities at the expense of the state program of the development of the North Caucasus and the adjustment of the programs of natural monopolies was made. According to experts, the amount of about 35.5 billion rubles is needed for the implementation of the priority activities of creating objects of the infrastructure of the tourism cluster in the period up to 2015. The funds will be used to create networks of gas supply, maintenance of cluster grids, creation of water supply, wastewater collection and treatment facilities, provision of transport infrastructure, as well as design and construction of airports.

The issue of creating regional airlines in the North Caucasus initiated by leaders of the North Caucasus Federal District and "The North Caucasus Resorts" will also be examined. As it was noted at the meeting, the issue of the regional aviation logistics is relevant for many regions of Russia, and its examination in the North Caucasus as an example will be useful for other areas. According to preliminary estimates, foreign companies such as EADS, Bombardier and Embraer. can take part in the creation of such airlines. The issue of financing the reconstruction of the tunnel in North Ossetia will also be considered; without it the delivery of goods and tourists to the resort "Mamison" is impossible. In addition, according to the suggestion of the leaders of several regions of the North Caucasus Federal District, the subject of the construction of the railway Kislovodsk - Karachaevsk - Krasnaya Polyana willalso be examined.

Another decision made at the meeting of the commission is to study the issue of expanding the scope and mechanism of state guarantees to investors.

The Prime Minister instructed Alexander Khloponin, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus Federal District, to control the work of creating a comprehensive security system in the tourism cluster which would meet all international standards, taking into account the existing risks and threats. The working group on the formation of the Concept of Security will include representatives of all interested federal and regional structures.