It is important to soberly assess the benefits

In an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta (from 15.01.2014, source) Minister of Regional Development of the Russian Federation Igor Slyunyaev told what exactly the funds will be spent in the framework of the state program for the development of the Far East.

So, according to the Minister of Regional Development of the Russian Federation, "the existing infrastructure constraints are to be removed in the coming years, because Transsib, Chita-Khabarovsk, Sevmorput road, border crossings, energy and municipal facilities require significant modernization and capital investments." Igor Slyunyaev stressed that it is important to create a favorable living environment, create comfortable conditions for life beyond the Urals. "Schools, hospitals, housing should meet the highest international standards," he stressed.

"We will need to find 3,5 trillion rubles to ensure accelerated development in the formation of the budget for the next financial periods," - he said. Speech about the necessary investment in the macro-region, according to Slyunyaev, is about tens of trillion rubles.

Economic problems of the Far East resemble Singapore 1960-ies, said Slyunyaev after reading the memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore. "This is a new economy, which must be created practically from scratch; Infrastructure that needs modernization; Shortage of labor resources, skilled workers; customs rules, rules of foreign trade, which are changing in the global world; competitors and neighbors who breathe in the back and have been following the path of sustainable economic development for two decades. Singaporean, Chinese, Korean experience can be of use to us, "he said.

However, as the minister said, it will be difficult to compete with Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, but "it is important to soberly assess our competitive advantages, develop them, consolidate them both on external and domestic markets." "The road will be mastered by the going," he added with optimism.

Recall that the development of the Far East is Russia's national priority for the whole XXI century, said Russian President Vladimir Putin in his annual address to the Federal Assembly. “The tasks to be solved are unprecedented in scale, which means that our steps should be unprecedented and non-standard,” the president said.