Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued instructions to finalize and adopt a national transport development strategy till the year 2030, Itar-Tass reports.
“Of course, this must be done in close correlation with the national economic development strategy at least till the year 2020, but the transport development strategy itself must be finalized and adopted. That will be the first item of the presidential instruction,” Putin said after a meeting of the State Council Presidium on Tuesday.
He said that “on the basis of our work today a list of presidential instructions will be drawn up.”
In part, the point at issue is “drafting proposals for the formation of a government tariff policy for transport services to encourage cargo and passenger traffic to and from regions in Siberia and the Far East.”
The president came out against including in a future strategy an item on the need for decisions on the differential reduction of import taxes on aircraft, flight simulators and spare parts.
“I have nothing against the import of foreign aviation technologies. Moreover, I understand that air carriers need up-to-date aircraft to be competitive in the international market and inside the country. But we must do this very consciously and in a very balanced way. There must be a tight peg to production plans inside Russia.”
In his opinion, “we must take a look with our manufacturers once again at the development plans and at their capabilities, and to support them there, where it is feasible and possible with financial, organizational and administrative resources.”
Putin urged the Transport Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade to drop control of property they cannot manage effectively and to hand over to Russian regions the airports of regional and local importance.
“It is necessary to draft rules of handing over to Russia’s constituent territories the airdromes of regional and local importance for the purpose of developing the aviation transport system of Russian territories, the way we did in Krasnoyarsk, the way we did in St. Petersburg, the way we did in other places,” Putin said. “I am asking the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade to ease their grip on the properties we cannot manage effectively.”
“That’s the way of going about this business that is used around the world,” Putin said. “Naturally, there must be a balanced decision.” Everything must be calculated well to achieve the expected result.
“The issue on the agenda is a package of measures to create in Russia’ s territory an infrastructure of major air transport hubs in Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Khabarovsk. The implementation of such projects is possible in all such major centers,” Putin said.
“Lastly, the bodies of state power in Russia’s constituent territories are advised to ensure the development and authorization of comprehensive programs for the development suburban and urban means of transport and their proper linkage and for raising the quality of services being provided,” Putin said. “It is nakedly clear that from the standpoint of transport infrastructures our country and our economy are in a very backward state. Drawbacks in the transport infrastructure, just as those in the energy industry, a major brakes on our economic development,” Putin said.