Moscow may spend trillions of rubles to develop the Russian Far East. While visiting Vladivostok on March 1, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said it was too early to announce more concrete estimates, but he pledged to monitor the disbursement of federal funds. Fradkov also stated that the government had made no changes in its Eastern Siberia-Pacific pipeline plans. He said that some 500 kilometers of the pipeline had been already built and the destination point, Primor, has not changed (Interfax, March 1).
Although details of the government investments remained somewhat sketchy, officials indicated that disbursement of state money could start sooner rather than later.
Earlier this year, the Kremlin pledged to spend nearly $4 billion in government funding to boost the economic growth of the region. During a visit to Vladivostok on January 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested spending 100 billion rubles ($3.8 billion) to build a resort area on Russky Island, off the Pacific port of Vladivostok, to host the APEC 2012 summit. Putin issued a special decree to establish a state commission on the socioeconomic development of Russia's Far East, headed by Prime Minister Fradkov.
During his trip to Vladivostok, the administrative center of the Primor region, Fradkov said the new commission should convene before the end of March. He listed energy, transport, shipbuilding, fishery and port projects as priority programs (Interfax, March 1).
If you accept the thesis of Siberian Curse this is going to be a economic sinkhole.
(I am unconvinced, btw, as to that thesis. Carlos had a few choice words on the subject to the negative and while I don't take everything to heart about what he says, he's more right than wrong). Besides, global warming ought to ahve some interesting impacts here. My favourite part of the article is...
Along with Russia's ambitious plans to develop the Far East, an old project to build an undersea tunnel to link Sakhalin Island and the mainland has resurfaced. Russia's transportation ministry and Sakhalin are considering a plan to build a $3 billion tunnel to accommodate both a motorway and a rail link, the Sakhalin administration said in a statement. The project would be funded from the federal budget as part of an effort to improve communications between Sakhalin and the rest of Russia. The current Vanino-Kholmsk ferry link has become obsolete (Interfax, February 28).
Now that is going to be such a safe and well designed project! How deaths in construction do you think there will be?
Oh, you can believe that Russia is not being held back by its millions of people living in Siberia [1], and yet still believe that this plan is a boondoggle.
ReplyDeleteA resort island near Vladivostok? Ice baths and organomercury, book me a flight!
[1] Do you know what's holding American economic growth back? Long commutes. It's an hour per day of pure consumption, 2 to 3% of GDP, and wasted time. The solution: we should move all the exurban people back to our central cities! Think of how our growth rates would improve!
The solution: we should move all the exurban people back to our central cities! Think of how our growth rates would improve!
ReplyDeleteLee Ratner? Is that you? ;)
hrm Increase real income enough that everyone can afford their dacha and city condo too? At least as consituted, the greater Bay Area urban area is not so good for raising kids. No place for them to go out and get into trouble with out it being SERIOUS trouble. Have to move out to Walnut Creek (or further east) or into Marin to let that happen.
hrm. WI offices make it possible for people to count transit time as being on the click provided A) people take care of email, etc, enroute, and B) they're not the frakkers driving. Consequences?
Actually, this is a legal issue. Regular commuting time does not count as work time as an explicit part of US labor law. Can you say "externality"? If employers had to pay for the commute, American development would look rather different. (Not necessarily better.)
ReplyDeleteIt's not holding US growth back, except secondarily, because it affects distribution of income rather than income itself.
In the same way, in the Siberian case, the extra money spent to heat up Novosibirsk is going to Russia's energy sector.
If Russia were energy resource poor, this might present difficulties in terms of trade and energy dependence. But while Russia has ninety-nine problems, that ain't one.