State program of development of North-Caucasian Federal Okrug will cost over 2,5 trillion rubles

Upon a resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation a project of State program of development of North-Caucasian Federal Okrug for the period till 2025 at the cost of 2,55 trillion rubles was adopted. Only 10 per cent of this sum will be financed by state budget. Investments into the Caucasus are necessary, the only problem is control over them, the experts consider.

The Stare program sanctioned by the Government on December, 13, includes several subsections, among them “Promotion of investment attractiveness of North-Caucasian Federal Okrug”, “Development of ecologic and resort region of Kavkazskie Mineralniye Vodi under special guard” and “Development of tourist cluster in North-Caucasian Federal Okrug, Krasnodar region and the Republic of Adygea”.

The cost of the program adopted till 2025 is equal to 2,55 trillion rubles. The expenses of federal budget are still calculated till 2020, they make 234,9 billion rubles. The rest treasury expenses will be specified only after 2016. Off-budget investments make about 90% of the cost of the program or 2,3 trillion rubles.  

So, during one and a half years of discussion of the document project federal budget expenses were cut down by almost 10 times, “Vedomosti” newspaper reports.

Adoption of the State program of development on NCFO will not eliminate changes to it, “Commersant” reports adding that according to the governmental resolution signed by Medvedev on December, 11, and published on December, 13, it was decided that the State program would undergo prior public discussion.

Mikhail Emelyanov, First Deputy Chairman of the Committee of State Duma of the Russian Federation for economic policy, innovation development and business, considers that “if we want Northern Caucasus to remain part of Russia it is necessary to develop infrastructure and improve living standard of the people who live there, “Otkrytaya” newspaper of Stavropol quotes Emelyanov.

Other experts, among them Ivan Andrievsky, First Vice-president of the Russian Union of Engineers, and Andrey Sakharov, analyst of “Investcafé” agency, agree with him. Some of them emphasize the necessity of control over investments into the region “Nezavisimaya Gazeta” reports.