OREANDA-NEWS. October 05, 2010. The first assistant to the Head of Karelia Yuri Kancher has held a session of the working group on assistance in involvement of investments in the republic.

The working group includes members of the government on whose work the investment climate in Karelia depends the most. The task of the commission is to promote implementation of important projects leading to creation of new workplaces and development of industry within the territory of the republic.

This session of the commission was almost completely devoted to investment projects implemented in Sortavala metropolitan region. One of them is the project of Key Forest JSC concerning organization of enterprise for deep processing wood within the territory of Helyla urban settlement.

In the long term when the enterprise achieves full production it will be able to produce up to 120,000 cubic metres of sawn timber and laminated veneer lumber a year. The project will be implemented within the period from 2009 to 2012 and will take three stages, of which the first is development of logging and construction of a factory to produce sawn timber.

As the director general of Key Forest JSC Pavel Udavkov said, project design of the first phase of the factory is already developed, the project and budget documentation for construction of a wood-working shop is almost complete, logging, toting and cargo handling equipment is purchased. The enterprise funded assembling of the line of round timber sorting, the main equipment of the saw-mill is purchased and has to pass customs procedures. There goes casting of foundations and production of metal constructions for buildings of the shop. During implementation of the second and third stages there will appear boiler-houses, a line for sorting of dry sawn timber and a shop to produce laminated veneer lumber. Total amount of investments within the project will make 728 million roubles.

It not the only project which implementation was launched within the territory of the region. Head of administration of Sortavala metropolitan region Leonid Gulevich has told about other projects at the session of the working group. Eight of them are implemented in the sphere of tourism. These are expansion of Black Stones Hunting Facilities, development of infrastructure of Gardarika hotel club and Kolmas Karelia, Ltd. One of perspective territories for development of tourism is the territory of Riekkalansaari island. Since January, 2010 Lamberg country club and Vacation in Karelia guest house receive tourists, objects of the Northwest Tourist Company are under construction. Besides, this year in Sortavala there have been commissioned two market complexes, and construction of two more has begun. In 2012 commissioning of hydroelectric power stations in settlements of Ruskeala and Helyla is planned.

In the region there goes development of the scheme of territorial planning, the first stage of inventory of free industrial sites is completed, some of them are in the stage of cadastral registration.

Among investment offers planned for implementation there are construction of the town quay in Sortavala, a mountain-skiing complex in the settlement of Helyla, reconstruction of Vakkosalmi park, construction of garbage recycling plant, low-rise housing construction. They are being negotiated with potential investors.

As one of the problems constraining involvement of investments into the region Leonid Gulevich has mentioned the long process of land registration and procedures of the state cadastral registration which means lots of coordination. Members of the working group recommended authorities of Sortavala to organize work with investors in the one window mode that will allow to reduce terms of coordination land allocation documents and construction sanctions. At the same time the offer was made to involve representatives of interested federal structures to work of the group that would make it possible to accelerate solution of the most topical issues in the sphere of mobilization of investments and work with investors.

- The main task, – Yuri Kancher has pointed out at the end of the session, – to make investments pump up the budget, and citizens of the region to benefit with every rouble invested. Besides, it is necessary and to pay attention to advancing creation of new workplaces as modernization of production also means superfluity of hands. These and other principles should become a priority at current development of the Basic Strands of Investment Policy of the Government of the Republic of Karelia for 2011-2015. Also ministries of the economic block were offered to make offers in the project of the main economic document of the republic for the following years.