By Tass
Copyright tass
MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. The Far East needs special measures to differentiate approaches to the selection of state support mechanisms for different categories of businesses, Deputy Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic, State Secretary Anton Basansky said at a forum of Russian regions.
“There are still outstanding questions regarding the differentiation of approaches to government support for different categories of businesses in the Far East, including in tourism. Special measures are needed here. A short construction season, complicated deliveries of materials, higher labor costs – all these aspects may cause an increase in the final product cost. The business support tools that we have been developing in close cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development, development institutions and with the regions, help to minimize these difficulties,” he said.
Preferential regimes offer to investors in the Far East tax benefits, simplified access to land, lower insurance premium rates, as well as administrative preferences, easier procedures to obtain permits, and financing searches, he continued. These options are formalized through a “single window” – the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic. “Every 10th investment project in the Far East, implemented under preferential terms, is in tourism and recreation. Over recent five years, the accommodation facilities in the Far Eastern Federal District have grown by 26% – to 64,500 rooms,” he said.
The Far East also offers preferential lending – VEB.PF and other authorized banks loan money for priority investment projects at a rate of up to 5% per annum. One of such examples is the Goryachinsk Resort in Buryatia, which has attracted from VTB a loan of 0.5 billion rubles ($5.9 million). Infrastructure subsidies allow the state to compensate for up to 70% of businesses’ expenses on infrastructures for new investment projects.
The state has participated in programs to improve transport accessibility and to subsidize air transportation. Thanks to the single Far Eastern airline, organized in 2021, almost all regional capitals are interconnected now. Air travel subsidy programs are in operation. In 2024, investment in the Far East’s transportation programs at preferential rates made 23 billion rubles ($287 million), and 2.4 million passengers were able to buy tickets at preferential rates.
“The “[Far Eastern] Hectare” program, operating since June, 2016, also contributes to creation of new points of attraction in tourism. Every sixth project on a free hectare is created by a micro or small business in tourism,” the official said.
