Dmitry Medvedev and Igor Shuvalov discussed VEB.RF’s involvement in investment projects related to urban planning and development.

From a transcript:

Medvedev: When somebody mentions VEB as a development corporation, all manner of major economic projects usually come to mind. This is natural because VEB contributes to them in some way or other, by either lending to them, or acting as a guarantor, or participating as a partner. However, VEB also does other important things.

I’ve been to Tula recently and met with architects and builders. We discussed urban spatial development. By the way, your representative was there too. I know this issue has also become an important area where VEB works as a development institution, and you invest both intellectual and financial resources. Tell me more about it, will you?

Shuvalov: Our supervisory board, which you chair, indeed regularly considers the largest transactions that contribute to economic development in Russia. We have prepared several such major transactions. The board are to meet in the next few days to discuss them under your supervision. These transactions promise to be an exciting experience. Speaking of urban development and the urban economy, this is now one of our main concerns.

We paid close attention to preparations for the Tula meeting and its outcome. It was a very interesting event, attended by young architects and urbanists. The new legislation on State Development Corporation VEB.RF—as related to functions and coordination— allows us, Dmitry Anatolyevich, to take a basically different approach to urban development. As you instructed, the scope of coordination extends to VEB.RF, Russian Export Center, DOM.RF and Russian Small and Medium Business Corporation.

We are looking to invest adequately in different segments of the urban economy. We have chosen 100 urban areas, the 100 largest cities in Russia, except for Moscow and Saint Petersburg. This doesn’t mean that we aren’t involved in projects there …

Medvedev: They can take care of themselves.

Shuvalov: They’re under the direct supervision, so to speak, of both the Government and the President. And they take full advantage of it.

Speaking of the 100 cities, we’ve agreed that a separate track is to provide training for city teams, those who manage the urban economy. And 109 projects for 45 of the 100 cities are currently under consideration separately. The projects are related to clean water, sewage treatment and work on upgrading urban public transit, building modern housing and transforming municipal services, and this is the right job for small and medium-sized enterprises. For this purpose, we use all the tools available to each development institution, including equipment leasing.

We send business missions, travel to the cities. Our joint business missions have already visited Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Ivanovo. All our teams make preparations beforehand, studying the projects. When we then all get together to assess the projects, they not only give project presentations but also defend the projects. Our business units then start working on the projects. We make sure it’s understood that loan agreements need to be signed within a certain time to set any project in motion. We’ve already achieved something tangible. For example, we are preparing to approve the loan agreements in Ulyanovsk and Nizhni Novgorod. We’re also organising a high-profile trip to Udmurtia, where we were a year ago, to see how the projects are progressing. Overall, we do exciting, well-coordinated work. We work in close cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development; they find urban planning and development very important too. As for the Ministry of Finance, we are currently collaborating with them to modernise urban public transit in partnership with major organizations such as Transmashholding and Sinara Group. We’ve set up a good project in Moscow jointly with Transmashholding, and we are trying to extend this experience to other cities. We’ll ask you to allow us to use the National Wealth Fund for these purposes. As for the Ministry of Finance, we routinely work with them on specific details of the projects.

Medvedev: You should also work with the Construction Ministry. Strictly speaking, urban planning policy is in their hands rather than under the control of the Finance Ministry or the Economic Development Ministry.

It’s a big issue for a huge number of city dwellers. We understand that people who live in urban areas—especially other than the capitals, even outside the regional capitals, in small towns—want their places to be as comfortable at least in some way as the modern urban environment in the largest cities of this country.

This is really what is very important. How can we do it? The point is that our urban planning policy was not ideal in Soviet times, but it wouldn’t work now anyway because the requirements and economic conditions have changed. To formulate a new policy on urban planning and give training to prepare modern teams, as you mentioned, are an extremely important topic.

When I was in Tula, I saw: if it weren’t for the new team, if it weren’t for the work of the people who came to pursue various initiatives, nothing would probably have been done there.

That is why it’s necessary to help our regions and particular cities to build competencies and recruit people who are ready to do this. Somebody, of course, can come from the capitals; but it’s better to rely on the local workforce and train them. In this context, VEB has all the required competencies. I hope you’ll make use of them.