Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

Russia: All Regions Trade and Investment Guide - a Project of the Council for Trade and Economic Cooperation (Russia - USA).

Kemerovo Region   £25

Aman Tuleyev,
GOVERNOR OF THE KEMEROVO REGION

Today’s Kemerovo Region (also known as the Kuzbass) ranks among the most dynamically developing regions of Russia. We have the necessary prerequisites to build a “second industrial Kuzbass” and enable the doubling of principal economic indicators for the Region. Such results will be based on the innovationdriven upgrade of the principal local industrial activities: the coal industry, basic metals, chemicals, electricity supply, and transport. The implementation of integrated development projects will also add to the achievement of the goal set.

From 1997 to 2007, the gross regional product of the Kemerovo Region
grew nearly 1.5-fold. The industrial output almost doubled. The Kuzbass ranks
third in the Siberian Federal District and 20th in Russia in terms of investment
inflow. At present Russia is the world third coal exporter after Indonesia and
Australia, and 90% of the exported Russian coal comes from the Kuzbass. It was the coal export that started up the positive changes in the Region.

We are at a stone’s throw from creating a technology park in the Kemerovo
Region. Three sites for the park construction have already been pre-selected.
The list of specific projects and design estimates are now under development.
Potential technology park residents have been chosen. The project will make it
possible to create new activities based on advanced coal processing, turning the Kuzbass into a leading Russian and international center of mining technologies.

Another backbone activity of Kuzbass, basic metals and fabricated metal
products, features stable development. The Kemerovo Region accounts for 14% of the national steel output, 14% of rolled metal, 63% of trunk railroad rails and 100% of tramway rails. For the last 10 years $2,200 million has been invested in the development of the activity, which made it possible to increase the output 1.8-fold.

It is well known that the Kuzbass is actively involved in the implementation
of the top priority national projects. Unlike most regions, we have six of them
to implement, not four. There are two additional regional projects for Culture
and Small Enterprise. We have not only met the objectives for the year 2007,
but exceeded them along all the planned parameters. The implementation of
all projects received huge funding during the year, $3,540 million instead of the planned $3,000 million.

Another milestone of the Region’s development, which is going to change the
idea of the Kuzbass as a purely industrial, coal-mining region, is tourism. The growth of the budget revenues is not the only reason to develop tourism; it is, above all, part and parcel of the Modern Healthcare national project. Mountain Shoria is considered a major tourist area in Siberia. Up to 5,000 people traveled there on vacation annually just ten years ago. Now the number has exceeded 150,000. Today Mountain Shoria already has alpine skiing tracks with ropeways up to world standards. Modern hotels, tourist camps and entertainment centers have been built. Besides, the first phase of
the Tanay Regional Alpine Skiing Center has been completed and inaugurated in the Promyshlennaya District; the Center is intended for all lovers of outdoor activities and includes the option for family recreation.

I  have named but the principal landmarks of the Region’s social and
economic development. The conclusion is clear: within 10 years, the Kuzbass
strangled by strikes has turned into the Kuzbass bringing value, a core industrial region of Russia.

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