The Russian government is implementing over 150 infrastructure investment projects worth more than RUB 610 billion ($8.1 billion) in 26 regions, according to deputy prime minister Marat Khusnullin.
In October 2020, the government approved a mechanism that allows regions to write off debt on budget loans. At the expense of the freed funds, the regions will build infrastructure for new investment projects. Last week, during a meeting of the government regional development committee, a list of such investment projects was considered.
“Most of the projects will be implemented in different industries, as well as housing construction, agriculture and logistics,” Khusnullin says.
The largest number of projects were submitted by the regions of the Central and Volga federal districts. Among the leaders are also the Novosibirsk, Omsk region and Krasnodar region. The selection takes into account the ratio of private investment and budget funds allocated for the projects, as well as the number of new jobs created.
Earlier, the Russian government announced it will invest RUB 28 billion into the construction of social infrastructure like schools, hospitals, kindergartens and other significant social and engineering infrastructure (see Kallanish passim).
Russia also foresees big investments into the construction of residential real estate by 2030. Overall investment here will be about RUB 50 trillion.
Construction accounts for over 50% of global steel consumption and over 70% in Russia, according to Russian market participants.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, market sources predicted that by 2030, the annual consumption of steel by the construction industry in Russia may grow to 39 million tonnes.
Russian steelmaker Evraz expects that domestic construction steel demand should increase by 3-5% in 2021, driven by rebar after its consumption fell in 2020.
