OREANDA-NEWS. March 16, 2010. Head of Karelia Sergey Katanandov has made a trip to Louhi region which is the northernmost and the most distressed region of the republic. As Sergey Katanandov has emphasized, the main aim of his trip was to find a way to reverse the situation. "In 1997 enterprises of the region worked, but there was a social chaos – Head of the republic has noted. – Pensions, salaries, allowances were not paid. Now the situation is quite the opposite – the state fulfills its obligations in full, all's quiet in the society, though enterprises stay idle." Social payments alone on the region within one year make about 80 million roubles, which is a little less than annual income of the local budget. In fact, it is only a part of public investments, as now the region lives, basically, at the expense of the budgetary sphere.

Thus, during his trip Head of Karelia has visited a new water intake point of the settlement. It was started up several weeks ago and costed more than 70 million roubles. Most of the price was paid from the republican budget. If earlier inhabitants of the settlement received water from the land-locked lake on which coast there are many household outbuildings, then now the water comes from clean flowage lake of Keret. For this purpose there has been built a new pump station and more than 8 kilometers of water conduits.

The next point in the program of Sergey Katanandov's trip was the reconstructed polyclinic of the settlement. To repair it the budget of Karelia allocated 27 million roubles, another 5 million roubles from republican treasury was spent to purchase of equipment including fluorographic unit, two modern stomatologic complexes, equipment for a surgery room. Besides due to the Health national project for the region it had been purchased 7 cross-country ambulance cars and more than 10 units of various medical equipment, including the X-ray unit, ultrasonic system, cardiographs, etc.

Another project successfully completed in the region, is construction of a supermodern substation with a capacity of 250 megawatt. The project costs 2 billion roubles financed at the expense of the state-owned Federal network company. The main aim of the project is to provide reliable energy transit from Kola atomic power station to the central regions of Russia. For the region appearance of the substation means 100 megawatt of free capacity which even now may be used to establish large-scale productions. Having visited the substation, Head of Karelia as a professional builder was impressed with the quality and scale of works. The chief engineer of bulk power systems of the Northwest Victor Fedotov has told Sergey Katanandov, that in the following years in Karelia there will be constructed 3 more objects of this kind - in Medvezhyegorsk, Suojarvi and in Petrozavodsk. Besides, the Federal Grid Company intends to incur reconstruction of electric systems on the island of Valaam. Victor Fedotov has asked Sergey Katanandov's support in issuing necessary building permits, and Head of Karelia has given necessary commissions to the Government of the republic.

It turns out, that budgetary and social spheres work stably in Louhi region, and there are actual reserves for production development; however, local enterprises close one by one. What is the reason? Sergey Katanandov has put this question point-blank at the meeting in local administration, at the meeting with businessmen of the region and at the gathering citizens in community culture center.

On the one hand, Louhi is located in the Far North, and local production cannot compete in cost price with production of territories where transport and heating charges are not so high. On the other hand, there are many strangenesses which are not explained by climatic conditions only. For example, the region has not managed to get the housing-and-municipal complex working by its own efforts. As a result, the Government of Karelia had to invite experts from Petrozavodsk not to let wreck another cold season. Yet, experts of housing and communal services sustain losses. At the same time, only 5% of inhabitants receive subsidies to pay for municipal services in Louhi region (and tariffs in the North are high), whereas in other regions of Karelia the share of grant addressees makes from 30 to 40%. In fact, this money could have been spent to support and develop local municipal infrastructure.

The similar picture concerns participation in various programs. For example, only three settlements of the region have managed to fulfil all requirements of the Support Fund for the Reform of the Housing and Utilities Sector to participate in the Russian program of extensive repairs of apartment houses and exchange of slum dwellings for proper living conditions.

Another strangeness is that in the region there remained almost no operating prductions, but there are also no initiatives to found enterprises. It is the only region in Karelia which has no ready investment projects.

"And what comes out? – Sergey Katanandov asked a question at the meeting with authorities and heads of organizations of the region. – Our fathers and grandfathers were good at cutting wood, extracting stones, fishing, picking berries, and we can only treat, teach and render social help to each other? The impression is, that the region is waiting for a miracle. This tendency should be revised. I give the Government of Karelia and local authorities a month to analyse the situation and make offer how to recover economy of the region."

Head of Karelia also spoke about prospects of northern territories at the meeting with undergraduate students of Louhi high school. Sergey Katanandov has pointed out, that the North possesses a huge potential, that is wood, minerals, bioresources, and in Karelia it is also transit of cargoes and energy carriers. Making comments on results of the trip, Head of Karelia has emphasized: "There are no economically unviable regions, all we need is just to lay our hands to it. Development of northern territories will be related to development of Shtolmanovsky deposit, development of Murmansk port and ports of the White Sea, and the railway. The northerners should not panic, but we all have to stir including residents of northern territories."

During his working trip the Head of Karelia was accompanied by the Chief of the Administration of the Head of the Republic of Karelia Lyudmila Kosyuk, Chief Federal Inspector in the Republic of Karelia Alexander Hynninen, ministers and heads of departments of the republic. After the meeting with inhabitants of the region where Sergey Katanandov answered the most different questions – from housing and communal services to the reasons of defeat of the Russian combined team in Vancouver – the ministers have held a reception of citizens on private matters. Also before the beginning of the meeting Head of Karelia has presented veterans of the Great Patriotic War with medals to the 65th Anniversary of the Victory.