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The planning session dedicated to identification of long-term development scenario for Astrakhan Oblast was held on 13 and 14 February 2009. The event was organized by the Oblast administration and the CSR “North-West”, which is currently working on revision of the long-term development strategy for the region.
Among the participants of the event were Oblast governor Alexander Zhilkin, Chairman of Astrakhsn Oblast government Konstantin Markelov, representatives of government agencies (RF Ministry of Regional Development, RF Ministry of Economic Development and RF Tourism Agency), regional government authorities, federal experts – representatives of the Russian Union of Travel Industry and Interregional Analytical Center (IAC), representatives of Rosbank and Vnesheconombank (Development Bank) as well as representatives of local business and expert community. The event was moderated by CSR “North-West” director Vladimir Knyaginin.
The goal of the participants of the session was to adjust strategic priorities for the region’s development, to draw the list of key projects and to identify mechanisms for their realization under new economic conditions.
For more detailed analysis of prospects for development of the oblast’s economy groups were formed to discuss sectors of particular importance for the region: fishing industry complex, agro-industrial complex, tourism, oil and gas complex and shipbuilding, social development and public services, building and engineering infrastructure.
Reports made by representatives of federal agencies were devoted to opportunities for getting federal support to priority plans and programs like cluster initiatives, large-scale investment programs etc.
Federal experts – Chairman of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Sergei Shpilko and IAC expert on shipbuilding Yuri Drugov – presented their vision of prospects for development of two markets most important for development of the Oblast’s economy and labor market: tourism and shipbuilding. Special emphasis was placed on issues related to transformation of the markets under the influence of global and financial and economic crisis as well as to emerging challenges and opportunities for Astrakhan Oblast enterprises.
In his speech Sergei Shpilko noted that travelers were becoming more attracted to short economy-class tours and to domestic travelling. The expert believes that demand for fishing tourism (an important sector for the Astrakhan travel industry) is unlikely to drop significantly, because for adepts of this type of activity fishing is part of the lifestyle rather than a rare leisure experience. Investment in the sector is obviously going to drop, but even small investments would help to achieve some positive results, for example, to create a new tour, added the expert.
Participants of the discussion have also touched the topic of quality and variety of products offered at the regional tourism market. There were presented several investment projects targeted at development of the region’s tourism and recreation sector, in particular, at improvement of the quality of services in the sphere of fishing tourism as well as at diversification of services in the sphere of recreation. The projects have the potential to attract attention of tourists in the region as well as to raise tourism attractiveness of the Oblast.
Sergei Drugov, an IAC expert on shipbuilding, described in his report the complicated situation at the world market: the shipbuilding sector is facing the crisis of overproduction and the global economic crisis has further aggravated the situation. The expert expressed his concerns about the fact that there were no guarantees that the shipbuilding sector specializing at provision of services to oil and gas sector would get new orders. There are contracts for other types of ships and services, but in order to attract these new contracts Astrakhan Oblast enterprises would have to change their marketing policy and the policy of partnership within the shipbuilding sector.
The report presented by Marina Lipetskaya, leader of the CSR North-West task force for revisions to the Long-term Strategy for Socio-Economic Development of Astrakhan Oblast, dealt with the analysis of current processes in other Astrakhan Oblast’s markets of specialization. The expert predicts food markets would confront total restructuring that will find its expression primarily in more active concentration of enterprises. Agricultural producers would have to improve their efficiency and development of logistics facilities would contribute to the process.
Task force members believe that creation of municipal and intermunicipal logistics centers would be an efficient solution to the problem. Markets with potential for import substitution would be most attractive in the short-term perspective, stressed the expert. At the same time it should be taken into account that currency of countries – competitors of Astrakhan Oblast agricultural companies in the Russian markets is falling down proportionally to the ruble.
Yuri Trukhachev, Vice-President of the RF Union of Architects and Director of the Yuzhny Urban Planning Center, spoke about tendencies in the oblast’s spatial development. A distinctive feature of the present spatial organization of the region is its mono polarity, i.e. concentration of development process in Astrakhan, which creates misbalance in exploitation of the oblast’s social and economic potential by a single oblast’s area. The expert believes the problem could be solved by creation of alternative growth points in the region.
Representatives of Russia’s leading banks – Development Bank(VEB) and Rosbank spoke about opportunities and financial mechanisms to support social and economic development of the region. They also described requirements to strategic projects in the region specified by the so called “development agencies ” (like VEB) created at the level of the RF government.
The planning session was the second event conducted as part of the revision of the long-term development strategy for Astrakhan Oblast. Suggested at the session recommendations and projects for development of the region that can be implemented even in the context of economic crisis will be considered by the CSR experts working on the resulting strategy document.
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Source: CSR "North-West"
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