"We are becoming independent from Western manufacturers"

Despite external pressure, interest in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is only growing. Foreign guests come to the event regardless of artificially created difficulties: in 2025, about 20 thousand people registered for the SPIEF. Alexander Beglov, the governor of the city, told Izvestia about this, as well as about the development of St. Petersburg's industry, new metro stations and megaprojects of the city on the sidelines of the SPIEF.

"Industry is the locomotive of the city's economy"

— In your opinion, how has the forum changed in 2025? Maybe there is an increase in the share of Russian participants or there is an emphasis on domestic technologies. What is the most important thing?

— We can summarize the first results. About 20 thousand people take part in this forum. This is much more than last year. Regardless of the sanctions, regardless of the turbulence that is happening in the world, people still come. And these are not only Russians, but also a lot of foreign guests.

I am scheduled to meet today with representatives of friendly countries who represent their countries at the highest level. This is very encouraging. Interest in the forum remains high, regardless of the difficulties that are artificially created to complicate the way for our foreign guests. But they still overcome the obstacles and come.

— What are your plans for framework agreements and investments this year? Is there any news related to industry and its development in St. Petersburg?

— First of all, we focus on the development of our industry. Because industry is the engine of our city's economy. First of all, these are highly qualified personnel, which is very important for us.

These are shipbuilders who fulfill a large order. Just imagine: today, 60 ships are being built at the shipyards of St. Petersburg, and a lot of work is being done. Customers trust the St. Petersburg shipyards, which perform their respective tasks on time and with high quality.

These are also infrastructure megaprojects that are being built in St. Petersburg and concern not only our city, but also other regions of the country.

Just recently, there was a session where we informed about the construction of the Moscow—St. Petersburg high-speed railway (HSR). This is a huge megaproject, which, moreover, is being implemented against the background of a special operation.

HSR is important not only for St. Petersburg, but also for Veliky Novgorod, Leningrad region and Moscow. It also provides an opportunity to develop the Murmansk region, because the road goes there further. It is very important that the expressway continues to develop, because Murmansk is one of the industrial centers of our country.

Interestingly, by deciding to build a high-speed railway through Veliky Novgorod, the president eliminated, let's say, a historical injustice. After all, what is Veliky Novgorod? This is the Northern capital of Ancient Russia, and all trade routes passed through it. With the construction of the Mykolaiv railway, Veliky Novgorod remained on the sidelines, and now the road will pass through it again.

Today, Veliky Novgorod is developing not only as a tourist destination, but also as an industrial center. Therefore, it is important to be able to get there in 30 minutes. This will provide completely new ways of development both in industry and culture.

"Metro will improve the quality of life of citizens"

— The city has taken control of the construction of the metro, maybe you have already formed an understanding of what this will give St. Petersburg residents in terms of timing, new stations or quality?

— It was a very big challenge for our city, because the old Metrostroy went bankrupt, and we had to create the Metrostroy of the Northern Capital from scratch: purchase the appropriate equipment, make design documentation, and maintain human resources.

Last year, the Mining Institute metro station was opened. We are currently working on several stations, and we plan to complete them by the end of 2025. Due to the fact that Metrostroy has managed to obtain two tunneling shields that will speed up the work of the Obukhov plant, we are becoming practically independent from Western manufacturers.

The development of the metro is closely linked to the construction of a high-speed railway. The complex of works related to the construction of the station will also be connected with the metro.

I have already talked about this in detail once, but I would like to return to our exhibition stand at the SPIEF. All megaprojects aimed at the development of the city are outlined here. They relate to industry, medicine, construction, infrastructure facilities, and city development — all 10 priority areas that are needed to improve the quality of life of St. Petersburg residents and guests of the Northern Capital.