Official says Govt to slash transport sector budget by more than 10%

Cuts to Russia's transport industry development programs in the federal budget will exceed 10%, a Ministry of Transport official said Friday.

"Inland Water Transport (IWT) remains a priority for us. Financing of inland waterways (IWW) should be secured. As part of the budgeting Russian Ministry of Transport plans to return to the issue of subsidy of river fleet upgrade and improvement of the quality parameters of IWW," Deputy Transport Minister Oleg Belozerov was quoted by the correspondent of IAA PortNews' maritime portal "Russian Navigation" as saying at the national conference "The Functioning of the Transport Industry in the Context of Financial and Economic Instability.”