Russian President Vladimir Putin held a bilateral meeting with the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, who reported to him on the most important city projects, import substitution and achieving technological independence, the press service of Smolny told RosBalt news agency.
According to Beglov, St. Petersburg is effectively solving the problem of import substitution after the departure of Western companies. “We thought it would probably be difficult, but in a short time our other partners came. Today we have practically no problems – those who left have been replaced. Other manufacturers of products that the residents of our city liked came, and I don’t know how we can now return to the old one. And most importantly, she is local. St. Petersburg works very hard to ensure that local products are supplied to the market. We work well with Belarusians, we have good cooperation,” the governor emphasized.
He also noted that unemployment in St. Petersburg is the lowest in the country (1.5-1.7%), the poverty level is falling, and about 70% of the city budget is spent on the social sphere. Among other important areas of government work, the governor highlighted the achievement of technological independence and the transition to modern technologies. According to him, “St. Petersburg can cope with this.”
In the Northern capital, the level of industrial production and budget revenues are growing, which reached 1 trillion rubles in 2022, and 1 trillion 148 billion rubles in 2023. “But this is not enough. You can’t eat up all the money, you need to develop production and invest in development. One trillion in 2023 is the investment that was made in St. Petersburg,” emphasized Alexander Beglov. “This means that this pace of development will be maintained. If a trillion is invested, it will give a return,” noted Vladimir Putin, in turn.
Beglov recalled that one of the tasks that the president set for the city was eliminating the accumulated deficit of social facilities. “There were 309 objects missing. To date, two-thirds of this deficit has been eliminated. In 2023, 81 social facilities were introduced, including 55 new schools and kindergartens. By the end of 2024, we will fully implement your instructions and eliminate the shortage of social facilities. And from 2025 we will start as planned: as much housing as there are social facilities,” the governor said.
According to him, serious attention is paid to improvement issues in St. Petersburg. In recent years, 35 fountains have been repaired, 72 new public spaces have been created, and 60 large city objects and spaces have received modern lighting. In addition, a landmark object for the city, the Museum of Naval Glory, was opened in Kronstadt, restoration of three forts began, with the participation of Gazprom, the territory near the Lakhta Center was landscaped and the largest skating rink in the city was opened.
The governor thanked the president for his participation in solving the problem of defrauded shareholders, which the head of state kept under personal control. “There was one million square meters in 2019, but in 2023 we fulfilled your instructions and closed this problem. In St. Petersburg, the problem of defrauded shareholders does not exist,” he emphasized.
According to Beglov, there is also great progress in the issue of metro construction: the city authorities created the organization “Metrostroy of the Northern Capital”, increased volumes, ordered new equipment, and increased the staff to 4 thousand 300 people.
The governor conveyed to the president words of gratitude from all residents of St. Petersburg who felt the first results of the transport reform. On behalf of Vladimir Putin, a large-scale renewal of rolling stock on all types of public transport has been underway since 2022. The city received government loans for 15 years at low interest rates, thanks to which about 4 thousand units of new equipment were purchased – more than 450 trams and trolleybuses, about 3,500 environmentally friendly buses and 144 Baltiets metro cars.
Speaking about environmental issues, the governor noted that all city boiler houses have been converted to environmentally friendly fuels, with the exception of several departmental ones. “We will help them in the near future,” Beglov promised.
The head of the city also spoke about the General Plan of St. Petersburg until 2040 with a perspective until 2050, about prepared and launched projects. These include the Latitudinal Expressway, the Kupchino-Shushary-Slavyanka high-speed tram line, the construction of the Bolshoi Smolensky Bridge, university campuses, the metro through Pulkovo and Expoforum in the direction of the Technological Valley. Also, the clock movement of electric trains has been launched along 3 routes to Pavlovsk, Lomonosov, Krasnoye Selo, and 3 more routes are being developed – to Melnichny Ruchey, Vyborg and Tosno.
At the end of the meeting, the governor thanked Vladimir Putin for his continued support for the Northern capital. “Fulfilling your instructions, St. Petersburg residents are building the city as a metropolis of the 21st century,” he emphasized.
Source: Rosbalt
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