Meeting on infrastructure development in the Far Eastern Federal District

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues.

Today, we will focus on issues that are crucial to our long-term systematic plans to develop the Far East, to ensure the unfaltering operation of enterprises, and the implementation of investment programmes. Without a doubt, the matters under discussion are vital for improving the quality of life of the people who live in this vast macro-region.

We will primarily focus on improving the energy and transport infrastructure.

Let us start with the energy sector and look into current priorities in addition to long-term goals.

Everyone is aware of a major technological disruption in the high-voltage equipment of 500 kilowatts that took place in the Primorye Territory in August. Almost two million people felt the consequences. I hope to hear about the lessons learned from this situation and the specific solutions to be implemented in the near future.

By the way, an extended heat dome over southern Russia has led to power outages as well. True, to a certain extent they were due to severe abnormal weather, but it does happen, and we must be prepared for it. Swift response must be part of the systemic work.

In this regard, power consumption in the Russian Far East is steadily growing. This is good news, because this tells us that the economic growth rates here are higher than national average. Power consumption increased by 1.4 per cent last year on average nationwide, whereas in the Far East it was up by 3.5 percent. This reflects, as I earlier said, an increase in business activity in the Far Eastern regions where manufacturing sites are expanding dynamically, and housing and social facilities are being built.

We expect energy consumption in Russia's Far East to increase at an annual rate of about five percent until 2030, which means doubling the national average.

Therefore, we need to anticipate these developments by expanding the generating capacity in the Far Eastern region accordingly. We must build power plants and grids and develop respective infrastructure taking into consideration the specific nature of the power grid there, as well as the forecasted demand for electricity in terms of powering businesses and households.

We are working on the corresponding decisions with the Government. Overall, I can say that we must build 2.6 gigawatts of capacity in Russia's Far East by 2030.

What are the key takeaways on this topic? The Energy Ministry, as well as other agencies, will be involved in these efforts. There is a considerable amount of obsolete equipment in this region, and it has to be taken out of operation. In order to reach the required capacity, we must take these circumstances into account as well.

Priority projects include building the Yuzhno-Yakutskaya Thermal Power Plant, as well as almost quadrupling capacity at the Svobodnenskaya Thermal Power Plant in the Amur Region. In addition to this, there is a need to upgrade 270 diesel power plants, including in Yakutia and Kamchatka. At the same time, we need to look beyond this horizon and to draft plans for a longer period.

Let me remind you that there was an instruction following last year's Eastern Economic Forum to draft a long-term development programme for the Far Eastern Federal District's power supply sector until 2050. These are long-term plans, and it is essential that we complete all these tasks on time.

The programme must be based on the General Layout of Russia's Electric Power Facilities, setting forth the deadlines for building thermal power plants, NPPs, hydropower plants, and power generating plants relying on renewables. Regarding the NPPs, I was referring to the Far East, of course. Why not? This is a promising sector. If we can build so many NPPs abroad - I cannot even remember the exact number; about 20, right - and provide funding for most of these projects, this means that we can also execute our plans to expand nuclear power generation within the country.

We also need to expand our power grids. The Government must approve this document by December 1, 2024. Time is running out. Today, I expect to hear reports on these efforts.

We should also look into ways to improve logistics and to increase transport access to the Far East and connectivity of its regions. Understandably, this is a tall order considering the immense territory of the Far Eastern Federal District. The priorities here include expanding air transport and creating new more convenient routes.

Notably, the air traffic volume in the Far East is growing steadily as well. Passenger traffic has doubled in ten years to a record-breaking high of 10.5 million passengers last year, of whom almost a quarter - 2.4 million passengers - used local flights connecting the Far Eastern regions.

Last year, a goal was set at the Eastern Economic Forum to increase passenger traffic on domestic flights in the Far East to at least 4 million passengers a year by 2030. To get there, we need to build and to upgrade the airfield infrastructure, to expand the itinerary network between the Far Eastern regions, to expand the aircraft fleet, and to make airfare more affordable.

We need regional aircraft. Mr Trutnev reported, and I know it from other sources as well, that we keep putting off the construction of this regional aircraft, which we need so badly.

I would like our colleagues today to share with us in detail the progress of implementation of the plans and projects with a special emphasis on supporting air transport on socially important Far Eastern routes, as well as the plans to build domestic aircraft for regional and small aviation. Without a doubt, the new aircraft must be competitive both in terms of specifications and price.

Next, we focus a lot on building motorways in the Far East. Their condition plays a key role in ensuring efficient logistics and strengthening the region's economy as a whole and, of course, improving the quality of life, as I earlier said.

The crossing over the Zeya River in the Amur Region ranks among the largest and most significant road facilities that have been built in the Far East most recently. We must also complete the construction of a bridge across the Lena River near Yakutsk which is another important and long-awaited project, all the more so as this is no longer a dead end destination.

As you are aware, we have set clear benchmarks regarding the condition of motorways. At least 85 percent of the road network in the metropolitan areas and at least half of regional roads must be brought up to code by the end of this year.

Please update us on the progress of this work and on the efforts to improve the road infrastructure which are part of the implementation of the Far Eastern master plans. We are aware that a number of the Far Eastern regions are running the risk of not achieving the goals within the established timeframe. In this regard, I look forward to hearing a report on the plans to catch up with the schedule. In the future, we need the Government and the regional authorities to keep this matter under special control.

Please provide a separate update on plans to provide high-quality access roads to border crossing points at the state border. We are fast tracking the development of their infrastructure, and it is crucial for these activities to be synchronised with the road construction plans.

On a final note, the Far East's proximity to international logistics routes and it being part of the goods flow global system constitute an exceptional competitive advantage, and our plans to develop transport corridors in the Far East must be aligned with the projects to develop the Northern Sea Route which we discuss fairly often, if not constantly.

Far Eastern seaports play an important role in our access to foreign markets and account for a quarter of the cargo turnover of all Russian ports. Without a doubt, this figure will continue to grow.

I am aware that in conjunction with the regions and federal authorities, businesses are implementing far-reaching plans to upgrade and build moorings and other port infrastructure facilities. We should support these projects by all means. At the same time, it is important to expand access roads to seaports and increase the capacity of railways.

We work systematically and consistently to remove the bottlenecks that are stifling the operation of the BAM and the Trans-Siberian Railway. Their capacity should increase to 180 million tonnes by the end of this year.

This year gave start to the third phase of upgrading the Eastern Operating Domain which envisages an increase in carrying capacity to 270 million tonnes by late 2032, as well as a more efficient distribution of freight flows to the ports of the Primorye transport hub of Vanino and Sovetskaya Gavan.

Please update us in detail on the progress of implementation of this core project of major importance.

Let us start with the energy sector. Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev is our next speaker.

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