VEB.RF, the Irkutsk Region, and Baikalsk Administration Prepare an Integrated Strategic Master Plan for Baikalsk and the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill

VEB.RF, the Government of the Irkutsk Region, the Administration of Baikalsk and the Monotowns Development Fund (MONOTOWNS.RF) started to develop a master plan for the town. Its development, approval and implementation comply fully with the activities of VEB.RF in the field of urban economy and will enable conditions for improving the quality of life and for identifying key projects, which will become urban economy and social growth drivers. The master plan will take six months to develop; Strelka KB’s best urban planning specialists will work on the document. STS-Invest (a subsidiary of VEB.RF) will act as the project office for the development and implementation of the master plan.

The master plan is the first stage of the project of integrated development of Baikalsk, including the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, in which VEB.RF participates in line with the decisions of the President of Russia and the Government of the Russian Federation. The master plan will have a dedicated section on reclamation and rehabilitation of the mill’s territory and spell out special mill’s transformation projects.

“Our priorities are improving the quality of life of the population of Baikalsk, nature preservation, responsible use of unique landscapes. It is equally important to attract tourists to the town and develop state-of-the-art infrastructure. The Government of the Irkutsk Region will provide all necessary assistance in developing the master plan for Baikalsk. We organise the work of executive authorities and of subordinate organisations in order to correctly issue the document and follow it,” said Acting Governor of the Irkutsk Region Igor Kobzev.

According to the Acting Governor, the master plan’s developers will consider assigning the status of a major investment project of the Irkutsk Region to the project for integrated development of Baikalsk, so that the project could benefit from of all necessary support measures in accordance with the federal and regional legislation.

Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov noted: “The joint task of federal and regional executive authorities and VEB.RF is to help Baikalsk to formulate a vision for the future. The city has the potential to become one of the points of attraction for the entire Baikal natural area. The master plan will identify promising niches to attract investors and create incentives for the development of small and medium-sized businesses. In fact, the start of the development of the master plan can be considered as the beginning of the project of integrated development of Baikalsk.”

“The solutions of the master plan are based on a comprehensive study of the town, including historical, geographical, spatial, and socio-economic aspects of its development. In particular, the effort involves the development of a forecast of the socio-demographic structure of the population of Baikalsk, without which it is impossible to model the city's long-term development,” Mayor of Baikalsk Vasily Temgenevsky said.

According to VEB.RF’s Senior Vice-President Anton Grigorov, the development of the master plan includes the analysis of the current state and data on the planned development of social infrastructure, including health, education, culture facilities, sports venues, as well as municipal and transport infrastructure, and the formation of key proposals for their development.

“A separate focus is on analysing investment projects that are active, planned or possible for future implementation in the town. It is also planned to analyse Baikalsk’s tourist potential in terms of the structure of services provided, the volume and ways of managing tourism traffic. VEB.RF will provide funding for the development of a strategic master plan and attract residents of the region and of Baikalsk, businesses, the public, the scientific and expert community, VEB.RF’s development institutions, and regional and federal executive authorities to participate in the development of the master plan,” Anton Grigorov said.

“When implementing the master plan, both VEB.RF and MONOTOWNS.RF are ready to support Baikalsk in financing new investment projects. Baikalsk has the status of a single-industry town; therefore the Fund can provide Baikalsk with all the support measures in full effect: infrastructure subsidies, and zero and five per cent preferential loans. We are also ready to offer non-financial support measures to develop together the tourist attractiveness of Baikalsk employing the Walk through the City project to create and develop places of attraction for residents and tourists. We will strengthen our collaboration,” VEB.RF’s Deputy Chairperson and MONOTOWNS.RF Director General Irina Makieva said.

It is worth noting that the Fund is ready to offer various support measures to Baikalsk. In particular, these are preferential loans for businesses from 5 to 250 million roubles at 0% per annum, and from 250 million to 1 billion roubles at 5% per annum. Preferential loans are also provided for PPP, IPP projects as well as concessions for housing and communal services improvement and for urban public transport upgrade leasing projects.

In addition, the Fund is ready to co-finance, jointly with the Irkutsk Region, the construction and reconstruction of engineering and transport infrastructure facilities for the implementation of investment projects in the amount of up to 95%. These facilities include electricity, gas, heat, and water supply networks, water disposal, as well as roads, flyovers, and railway tracks.