Russian Minister for Regional Development Igor Slyunyayev said that 49% of plumbing and 57% of sewers in Crimea needed replacing, most heating systems needed capital reconstruction, Kommersant reports.
The minister noted that many roads in Crimea had been built in the 1980s and most did not meet modern standards. They had needed 2-3 reconstructions. Over 40% of the Crimean budget was formed from donations. Slyunyayev summed the condition of Crimea up and said that it was no better than Palestine.
About 80% of water is delivered to Crimea through the North Crimean Canal from Dnepr. The peninsula imports over 80% of electricity, although wind power plants produce 220MW. Crimea extracts 1.65 billion cubic meters of gas and consumes at least 1 billion, exporting the rest.
The Russian minister believes that the republic has resources for development. He reminded that the average economic growth rate of Crimea had totaled 3% in 2010-2012, its economic rate had dropped by 2.2% (14.8% throughout Ukraine) during recession. It managed to overcome the crisis two years ago. About 70% of tourists in Crimea come from the eastern parts of Ukraine.
Russia will grant Crimea 343.9 billion rubles for development of the labour market, small and medium business. 21 billion rubles will be granted to balance regional budgets this year.
Slyunyayev noted that Crimea would not aggravate risks of interethnic conflicts as a Russian territory. He reminded that President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov had visited Crimea in early March.
