Topical road issue

The President Vadim Krasnoselsky held an extended meeting with the participation of representatives of road repair and construction enterprises. The agenda included current state of the industry and the prospects for its development. The discussion was attended by the Chairman of the Government Alexander Martynov, the Speaker of the Parliament Alexander Shcherba, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee Oleg Leontiev, the Heads of the State and City Administrations, representatives of public associations.

Ivan Untu, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Head of the Main Department for Construction, Road and Communal Services, informed the participants of the meeting on the current situation in the road sector.

There are 4,082 km of national and local roads at the service of the State Unitary Enterprise. They need 2 billion rubles to restore, and about 500 million rubles are needed for the annual maintenance. The road fund of the republican budget for 2018 provides only 155 million rubles. Recent years, up to 30% of the road fund, local authorities can borrow to finance socially protected expenditure items. According to the representative of the relevant department, that's why the road builders do not cope with the tasks assigned to them, and "patching holes is enough for one season".

The President is sure that this situation needs to be changed. Taking into account the unsatisfactory state of roads and the constant complaints of citizens on this issue, Vadim Krasnoselsky urged the authorities to consider the possibility of a phased reimbursement of the road fund.

During the past year, active work was carried out to improve the state enterprises, including in this sphere. Under the former leadership of the country, the profit of the State Unitary Enterprise was withdrawn, the enterprises could not develop. The chairman of the government, Alexander Martynov, said that following the results of 2017 there was a tendency to improve the situation: 4 enterprises paid off losses and showed profits. Currently, the State Road Sector Development Program is under development. One of its items should be the modernization of equipment, which, according to the Prime Minister, will save more than 20% of the funds allocated for road repairs.

According to the chairman of the parliamentary committee Oleg Leontyev, it is necessary to change the approach in the allocation of the road fund.

During the conversation, the president noted the need for an integrated approach to solving the problems of the road industry. It is necessary to maintain competition between enterprises, make maximum use of internal resources, which will allow combining the price of repairs and the quality of its implementation. Vadim Krasnoselsky urged all authorities to work together on a program for the development of the road industry. Alexander Shcherba, speaker of the parliament, supported the position of the President.

Heads of cities and districts expressed their proposals for the development of the industry. The subject matter showed that all the authorities are committed to solving the topical road issue. The concept of development of the road industry, according to the head of government, should be submitted before May 1.