On May 14, in Vorkuta, the member corporations of the Association of Managers of Russia shared their experience in organizing public-private partnerships (PPPs) aimed at solving the problems of socio-economic development of the Arctic.

The meeting of the Commission under the leadership of the First Deputy Executive Director of the Association Vadim Kovalev was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Komi Irina Bakhtina, General Director of VTsIOM Valery Fedorov, Head of the city Yaroslav Shaposhnikov. The discussion of the topic, including in an online format, was supported by representatives of the management of Interros, Severstal, Norilsk Nickel, Lukoil-Komi, Gazprom Transgaz Ukhta, Rusatom Cargo, and VEB.Russian Federation", the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic and the National PPP Center.

For more than 15 years of its application in Russia, PPPs have become a key mechanism for the development of Russian regions (the Far East and the Arctic are no exception here) - a mechanism that is in demand, first of all, for the creation of new engineering, transport, energy or utility infrastructure, the need for which is acute when building new industrial enterprises, or for the development of social infrastructure for the needs of the main "beneficiaries" of such projects — employees of enterprises, their families, residents of northern single-industry towns.

Representatives of corporations who shared their own experience of using PPP mechanisms in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Regions, the Republics of Komi and Sakha( Yakutia), Yamalo-Nenets and Nenets Autonomous Districts, were unanimous in the opinion that one of the key conditions for ensuring high business and investment activity is general and at the same time permanent ("constant"), transparent rules of "two-way traffic", which business could focus on when starting to implement large-scale infrastructure projects in both the industrial and social spheres.

At the moment, the Ministry of Regional Development of Russia initiates the launch of such a PPP format as the "Arctic" or "Far Eastern concession", which combines the function of a "single window", which ensures the interaction of investors interested in creating industrial infrastructure with federal and regional authorities, and a kind of" investment accelerator " — assistance to potential investors and regions in the qualitative and operational preparation of draft concession agreements submitted to the government commission.

In turn, the Fund for the Development of Single-Industry Towns is ready to issue non-refundable subsidies (95% of the project cost) for the creation of engineering infrastructure facilities, which after completion of construction can be transferred to the balance of the subject of the Federation or the city. For this purpose, there are also repayable concessional loans for up to 15 years (no more than 80% of the project cost) - for small businesses (projects worth from 5 to 250 million rubles) with a zero interest rate, for medium-sized businesses (projects worth up to 1 billion rubles) — with a rate of 5% per annum. Chief Managing Partner for Urban Development of VEB.Irina Makieva, Director General of the Fund for the Development of Single-Industry Towns, noted that to date, no applications for support measures have been received from the single-industry towns of Vorkuta, Zheshart and Emba. From the single-industry city of Inta 2, applications are under discussion.

The problem that the participants of the meeting referred to as one of the main ones that makes it difficult to make a decision on new investment projects and their implementation is the migration outflow of the population, due to which a shortage of highly qualified personnel has formed in the local labor market. The solution to this problem, according to the participants, should be taken by the state, expanding the network of branches of specialized universities in the regions. This will not only help companies to quickly and efficiently select personnel, but also stop young people from leaving the Arctic territories to get higher education, and will promote their self-realization and personal potential in their native cities.

– The issues that we are raising today are particularly relevant for Vorkuta, - said Yaroslav Shaposhnikov. – Currently, the development of the Arctic through various mechanisms of the current legislation is becoming a real process. Of course, they need to be applied in our city, where there is everything necessary for this – interested and responsible people, energy resources, free territories and a team that prepares the municipality for the implementation of various investment projects. I am sure that together we will fulfill the tasks set, including directly in Vorkuta.

In turn, Irina Bakhtina noted that in the current realities, each of the Arctic regions chooses its own model of socio – economic development-somewhere under the auspices of "Live in the North", somewhere-on the basis of a shift method that ensures the interests of a specific stage of the "life cycle" of the main industrial enterprises. In the Komi Republic, there can be no single model, since the socio-economic situation even in the Arctic municipalities is completely different. She asked the heads of such municipalities, together with the Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic, to intensify work with the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic and the Corporation "VEB.Russian Federation" on the preparation of applications for measures to support infrastructure investments.

An example of a project that combines both purely "service", scientific and educational, and innovative tasks is the Arctic Medical Cluster, the concept of which as part of the application for the creation of an international Scientific and educational center "Technologies for the Health of the Peoples of the North" will receive its assessment at the federal level after May 27, 2021. The cluster should become one of the support centers of a distributed network of institutions designed to provide specialized medical care to the crews of ships along the Northern Sea Route, engage in research work, including in the field of circumpolar medicine, human physiology in extreme climatic conditions, pharmaceuticals, as well as the development of professional competencies.

Another project – the innovation cluster-is planned to be presented at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg in early June. The question of the location of the object is still open, but Vorkuta can enter its perimeter. Both clusters, as an example of the development of "soft infrastructure", should help attract new companies and businesses to the northern territories that previously had no experience in implementing projects here. It is clear that they will not be able to claim the city-forming function, so the problem of" resetting " the raw material base for the municipality continues to be particularly relevant. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Komi Republic this week sent a plan for economic diversification, including a section on the new economic basis for the development of single-industry towns of Vorkuta and Inta, for approval by all interested departments, municipalities and commissions of the State Council of the Republic.