Experts discussed attracting investments in social facilities in small towns

The state of infrastructure remains one of the reasons for the outflow of population from small towns. This was the conclusion reached by the experts of the profile session "Partnership between government and Business: Synergy for development" within the framework of the III All—Russian Municipal Forum "Small Motherland - the Strength of Russia". Government and business representatives discussed tools for developing investments in new educational, medical, sports and cultural facilities.

According to the data provided by the participants of the session, about 39 million people live in small and medium-sized cities of Russia, or 27% of the country's population, while 29% of residents of working age plan to leave cities with a population of up to 100 thousand people. One of the reasons for this situation is the unsatisfactory state of the infrastructure, experts stressed. In their opinion, this problem is particularly acute in small and medium-sized cities, which leads to a shortage of qualified personnel and difficulties in retaining staff even with high salaries.

As noted by Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Svyatoslav Sorokin, the joint work of business and government to solve these problems gives a synergistic effect. "The resources and competencies of the two sectors complement each other and make it possible to solve social problems, as well as increase economic growth," he said.

However, as the participants in the discussion noted, concessions and public-private partnership mechanisms are designed to attract an investor, who then operates the facility himself and makes a profit from it. As an alternative, on behalf of the President of Russia, following the results of the Eastern Economic Forum 2024, business, together with experts, developed a mechanism for a social infrastructure contract (SOIC), they recalled at the session.

"It is designed for projects in which the business acts as a strategic partner, that is, it invests in the construction or reconstruction of facilities such as schools, hospitals, sports and cultural institutions, and then transfers them to the ownership of the municipality," said Elena Bezdenezhnykh, Vice President of Rusal. Based on the SOIC, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia has proposed a tool that makes it possible to use agreements on the protection and promotion of capital investments (NWFPs), the so-called "social NWFPs", in projects for the construction of social infrastructure facilities, Bezdenezhnykh recalled.

According to experts, the use of social safety nets in the construction of a major commercial facility, such as a factory or other production facility, will ensure the timely construction of those social facilities that are included in master plans and plans for the integrated development of small and medium-sized cities and other strategic planning documents. In return, the state, by the decision of the entity, will reimburse the costs of investors through subsidies or tax deductions. The use of such tools will allow the state to obtain the necessary facilities right now, and strengthen trust between the state and business, as well as attract additional investments to the regions to solve social problems, the participants in the discussion agreed.

According to Evgenia Uvarkina, a member of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets, the session became the quintessence of various discussions during the regional days of the forum, where participants discussed the potential of partnership between government and business. The main task, in her opinion, is to find tools for managing the development of territories that can link and solve these challenges.

The forum is being held on behalf of President Vladimir Putin and is organized by the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local Self-Government (VARMSU) with the support of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation. In 2026, it brought together 7,000 representatives of the municipal community and authorities at the federal and regional levels.