Investment growth and thousands of new jobs: the development of the North Caucasus macroregion was discussed at the RUSSIA EXPO
At the plenary session "Space of the Future: North Caucasus Macroregion", participants discussed promising projects and growth points of these territories taking into account the national development goals approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The North Caucasus macroregion includes the republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, North Ossetia-Alania, Adygea, Kalmykia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Chechen Republic and Stavropol region. It is home to 11 million people, said Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexander Novak. In addition, the macroregion has unique natural features. It is expected to be developed in five key areas — investment attraction, preservation of traditional values, integrated development of territories, development of creative economy and tourism, Alexander Novak emphasized.
"A lot of work has been carried out in recent years on socio-economic development, but there is still much to be done in order to achieve the goals that the President has set for the development of our country," Alexander Novak said.
Subjects of the region attracted 15% more investment in 2023 than in the last reporting period, said Deputy Prime Minister. In particular, this is influenced by the development of special economic zones and transport infrastructure. According to him, the region fulfills the role of the southern gateway of Russia.
As for the development of the creative industry in the economy, its driver is tourism. In addition to its existing types — for example, skiing — it is necessary to develop sea and balneological resorts.
"The Greater Caucasus is a modern, dynamically developing region, where it is comfortable to live and where one wants to come," summarized Alexander Novak.
The regions are actively involved in the work to improve the attractiveness of the territories, said Yury Chaika, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District. According to him, over 731 billion rubles were allocated to support their projects in 2023.
"The realization of breakthrough investment projects allowed to attract more than 362 billion rubles to the economy of the district in 2021-2023. In total, by 2030 we are expecting almost 2 trillion rubles of investment. The greatest opportunities for economic growth have been formed in tourism and the health resort industry. Industry is gaining good growth rates, including manufacturing production, which exceeded last year's figure by 19.5% in the first four months of this year. In the energy sector, infrastructure is being modernized and energy-efficient technologies are being introduced. Undoubtedly, no locomotive in the economy can move without a team. In order to realize the available potential, over 70 thousand jobs were created in all projects in 2023 alone," said Yury Chaika.
Over the past two years, the subjects of the North Caucasus have reached an advanced pace of development in key socio-economic indicators, said Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov.
"If we look at the results over two years, we see that the volume of investments has increased by more than a third, the gross regional product per capita has grown by 14%, and unemployment has decreased by almost 3%. We attribute these results, among other things, to federal targeted support for the regions. In the North Caucasus, we are implementing a strategy of socio-economic development and a special program approved by the Government on the instructions of the President. Adygea and Kalmykia have their own development programs, which significantly help these regions," said Maxim Reshetnikov.
For the development of agriculture in the macroregion, additional support measures for sheep farming and viticulture have been introduced. In particular, through the reinvestment of part of the excise taxes into production over four years, enterprises have invested 5.7 billion rubles. The tourist flow is also growing — 60% more tourists visited the subjects of the macroregion last year. By 2030, it is planned to create a Caspian coastal cluster, launch ski resorts "Mamison" and "Lago-Naki" and improve the Caucasus Trail. In addition, the federal authorities together with the regions are paying great attention to the development of the housing and utilities sector and the transport complex. In the North Caucasus, 950 kilometers of federal highways have been repaired and existing airports are being renovated. The launch of a new airport "Arkhyz" is planned until 2030.
"New national goals and national projects provide an opportunity to remove restrictions in the development of the macroregion. On the instructions of the President, significant resources are allocated, but the tasks are also serious," Maxim Reshetnikov concluded.
