OREANDA-NEWS. December 17, 2012. State Corporation ‘Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)’, the Russian Far East Development Ministry, OJSC the Far East and the Baikal Region Development Fund and LLC AgroInvest signed an agreement on cooperation in implementing a project on the construction of five innovation agro-industrial parks on the territory of the Far East Federal District.

The project aims to ensure the Far East region’s comprehensive development of the agro-industrial sector and food security as part of implementing the Government Program of Developing Agriculture and Regulating Markets for Agricultural Produce, Raw Materials and Food Products for 2013-2020 approved by Resolution of the Russian Government dated July 14, 2012 №717.

The fist construction stage provides for building two innovation infrastructure facilities in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories and then similar integrated facilities are to be built in the Amur, Sakhalin and Jewish autonomous areas. All five facilities are scheduled to be put into operation by 2016.

The project is to be funded on the terms of public private partnership. LLC AgroInvest will be responsible for implementing the project and raising funds from private investors under the auspices of the Russian Far East Development Ministry.

Director General of the Far East and the Baikal Region Development Fund Alexandr Bazhenov said, “Funding such an ambitious innovation project on the construction of a network of agro-industrial parks in the Far East Federal District is sure to become one of the Fund’s top-priority projects in the coming years. We are convinced that application of various public private partnership instruments can give a considerable impetus for the region’s economic development”.

“Russia’s entry into the WTO requires creating new mechanisms for t the state to support its agricultural producers. These are above all measures for improving infrastructure of the Russian agro-industrial complex. And today we are getting down o implementing such an advanced innovation project which will form the basis for ensuring the Far East region’s sustainable socio-economic development  and food security”, said  Russian Far East Development Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far East Federal District Victor Ishaev.