Yuri Trutnev: New investment projects help develop the economic potential of Transbaikalia

In Chita, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation - Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation Yuri Trutnev held a meeting on the implementation of investment projects in the Trans-Baikal Territory “At the Eastern Economic Forum held in September of this year, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin once again called the development of the Far East a national priority for the entire 21st century. Development is primarily associated with attracting investment and stimulating the economy. New investment projects create jobs, generate additional taxes, and increase financial flows within the region. All this creates the conditions for updating the social sphere, including the repair and construction of schools, hospitals, kindergartens, cultural and sports facilities, and residential buildings. Attracting and supporting investment projects is one of the priority areas of work for the development of the Far East. Today, almost 3 thousand projects are being implemented here with state support measures with a total volume of investment obligations of almost 8.2 trillion rubles, 3.6 trillion of which have already been invested. 58 investment projects are being implemented in the Trans-Baikal Territory. The total volume of investments is 480 billion rubles, of which 251 billion have already been invested. This is the fourth indicator in the Far Eastern Federal District. More than 8.6 thousand jobs were created. 14 projects are already working,” Yuri Trutnev opened the meeting. The status of the implementation of six investment projects with investments amounting to almost 1 trillion rubles was considered. “In September, at the Eastern Economic Forum, in the presence of President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, one of the largest projects in the Far East, the Udokan Mining and Metallurgical Combine, was put into operation. A project that took place mainly thanks to government support. Now the investor is planning the development of the project, the construction of the second stage. Other large mineral deposits are being developed, such as Kultuminskoye and Lugokanskoye, Taseevskoye and others. The potential for the development of mining projects in Transbaikalia is great. The reserves of a wide variety of minerals are significant. But this is obviously not the only opportunity for the development of the region. The region has logistics advantages and a number of other advantages that we can and should use for the development of the region,” said the Deputy Prime Minister. “Since Transbaikalia entered the Far Eastern Federal District, the most effective mechanisms for economic, infrastructural and social development have been extended to our region. Therefore, now we see a continuous increase in investments and the number of projects that come to us. But now questions of a systemic nature arise with the growth of enterprises, ongoing projects, and workload. It is gratifying for us that Yuri Petrovich and all federal leaders who attended the meeting paid attention to this and there are instructions from the President at the Eastern Economic Forum to develop appropriate program plans. Practical work is now underway,” said the Governor of the Trans-Baikal Territory, Alexander Osipov. The Udokan Copper company, which is developing Russia's largest copper deposit, is preparing to launch a hydrometallurgical plant that will produce copper cathode with a copper content of 99.99%. The Udokan mining and metallurgical plant consists of a hydrometallurgical plant and a processing plant. On September 11, 2023, within the framework of the Eastern Economic Forum with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the ceremonial launch of the enrichment plant equipment was carried out. As a result, the Udokan MMC produced the first sulfide concentrate with a copper content of 45%. The processing plant operates both grinding technological lines: all six mills - two semiautogenous and four ball mills, and the entire complex of flotation equipment. Now the Udokan Copper company has concentrated all its efforts on preparing for the launch of the hydrometallurgical plant. The main technologies that will be used at the mining and metals complex are atmospheric leaching and countercurrent decantation, copper extraction, and electrolysis. Early operational exploration work has started at Udokan. At the same time, the enterprise is implementing a geological and technological design program to increase the extraction of copper from ore. The company received the necessary permits to conduct open-pit mining at the Zapadny quarry; today the production volume has exceeded 8 million tons of copper ore. To implement the project, more than 3 thousand jobs have already been created and about 200 billion rubles of investment have been invested. Representatives of LLC Management Company Siberian Minerals reported on plans to create a full-cycle cluster, from ore mining to the production of lithium hydroxide. Investments in the cluster will amount to about 18 billion rubles, the implementation period is 2024-2039, reaching the design capacity is planned for 2030. Production capacities are based on the development of three deposits in the Trans-Baikal Territory and the construction of a plant in the region with a capacity of 15 thousand tons per year . Not me will be created its 500 new jobs. The project will be implemented by Zabaikalsky Lithium LLC. At the end of 2022, the company received the status of a resident of the ASEZ. The Bismuth company announced the construction of a mining and processing plant at the Zhelezny Kryazh deposit. The project is being implemented by the company as a resident of the ASEZ since 2021 in the Kalgan district of the Trans-Baikal Territory. As a result of the project, more than 1,000 new jobs will be created and about 17 billion rubles of investment will be financed. After the mining and processing plant is put into operation in 2025, its production capacity will be 850 thousand tons per year of processing gold ores and mining associated iron ore in the amount of up to 2,500 thousand tons per year. Projects to modernize public utility infrastructure systems in populated areas of the Trans-Baikal Territory using the Far Eastern Concession mechanism were presented by the Generation Group. According to Alexander Kurchatov, General Director of Generation LLC, the company’s key activity is the implementation of investment projects in the housing and communal services sector. In the Trans-Baikal Territory, a project is already being implemented to build a new boiler house in the village of Pervomaisky using the Far Eastern concession mechanism. Using the public-private partnership mechanism, it is planned to ensure the reconstruction of heat and water supply facilities in the Borzinsky, Shilkinsky districts and the Argunsky municipal district. The total investment volume will be about 4 billion rubles. The largest Russian gold mining holding, Highland Gold, presented two projects: the development of the Kultuminskoye gold-iron-copper deposit and the Lugokanskoye copper-gold deposit in the Gazimuro-Zavodsky district of the Trans-Baikal Territory. The project for the development of the Kultuminskoye field is being implemented by Kultuminskoye LLC, the company is a resident of the Transbaikalia ASEZ. To develop the Lugokanskoye field, the possibility of assigning the status of a resident of the ASEZ to the investor is currently being explored, including for the implementation of the investment project, it is planned to expand the borders of the ASEZ "Transbaikalia". One of the issues that was raised by investors was related to the lack of electricity for the development of projects. The Deputy Prime Minister noted that a proposal to develop a new energy strategy for the Far East has been submitted for consideration by the Chairman of the Russian Government. In addition to the strategy, the relevant ministries are developing separate initiatives related to ensuring power supply to new enterprises in the Far Eastern regions. Following the meeting, Yuri Trutnev instructed the Ministry of Eastern Development of Russia and the Regional Development Committee to hold a series of meetings with all investors who are already implementing or are just planning to work in Transbaikalia. “Initially there were seventeen projects on the meeting list. The list was reduced to six in order to substantively and in detail discuss with investors all their questions and wishes, and figure out how they could help. But today and tomorrow there will be additional meetings that will allow us to talk with every investor who wants to work in the Trans-Baikal Territory,” the Deputy Prime Minister emphasized. “The investment project support system was created on behalf of the head of state. This is a product that needs to be constantly improved. All forms of work that we carried out before will continue to be carried out. We are trying to ensure that investors, when implementing investment projects in the Far East, know that all support institutions are with them. And this includes the Ministry of Eastern Development, the Regional Development District, and the entire Government, which, under the leadership of Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin, has already held three strategic sessions on the development of the Far East. At the last strategic session, we introduced a number of new proposals aimed at supporting investors. We will continue to support investors and help them implement investment projects,” Yuri Trutnev summed up the meeting. Source: https://75.ru/news/341505 [https://75.ru/news/341505]