"The Zaporizhia region has everything to reach a new level"

Despite all the difficulties and challenges faced by the region, the Zaporizhia region is consistently and systematically working in all areas of life — from the economy and infrastructure to the social sphere. Yevgeny Balitsky, Governor of the Zaporizhia region, told Izvestia about this on June 4 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Read more about how the region lives and develops today in the article.

"The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant will remain a peaceful nuclear facility"

— Evgeny Vitalievich, let's first clarify the status of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. How is the integration of the NPP into the unified energy system of Russia? Is it already possible to talk about the completion of a certain stage that will allow us to move on?

— Today, the station is under the protection of the RCBZ troops, the air defense forces and units of the Russian Guard. Speaking about her future, I can say that she will work, and work as part of Russia. According to the government's plan, we are tasked with launching the nuclear power plant in 2027. And this issue cannot be the subject of any agreements with other countries - Ukraine, the United States or anyone else. For us, the position is unambiguous: We have done everything necessary to ensure that the nuclear power plant continues to function and serve peaceful purposes.

To date, all six boilers of the NPP are in cold reserve. Even if, God forbid, it is destroyed, there will be no nuclear explosion. Emissions are possible, of course, but I stress once again that we are not talking about a nuclear disaster. We are aware of the consequences that can occur as a result of destruction. Even if peace agreements are signed, no one guarantees that there will be no terrorist attacks, all kinds of attacks and provocations. I think this will not end until we completely destroy fascism.

— Perhaps this is not the most correct question. American representatives came to the NPP, inspected the facility, and made some notes. During the visit, did they discuss that "this will be ours or not"?

— You know, I visit the NPP quite often when Grossi (Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafaeli Grossi) arrives. — Ed.). I've talked to him many times. And the Americans came and watched... But they are usually part of the OSCE mission group. However, to be honest, I have no confidence in Grossi or in any arrangements. All these European structures, the European Union, the European Council and others, only promise, so there is no trust in them at all. The enemy respects only strength. Given that these organizations are funded by European countries, it is logical that they promote their agenda and reflect their interests.

"Life cannot be stopped"

— A large number of attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on civilian infrastructure facilities are currently being recorded. Have they become noticeably more frequent lately?

— If earlier it was said that conditionally five [Ukrainian drones] could reach Kazan, then twenty—five have already reached us. We're used to it, though it's a sin to say.

But life cannot be stopped. Children should grow up, and people should love each other, create families, and have children. This natural cycle must continue, otherwise the enemy will achieve its goal — it will sow panic and turn the territory into a "gray zone". We understand these goals and cannot allow this to happen.

Of course, there are losses along the way, we are losing people. But we are doing our best to minimize losses. The challenges are extremely difficult, and the enemy uses new, non-standard methods. In fact, the entire so-called "civilized world" is against us, although, in our opinion, there is little left of the previous understanding of civilization. But we live with it, we work and we will develop.

"The operation of ports in the Sea of Azov is under full control"

— The Zaporizhia region is a large industrial and agricultural region through which the land route to Crimea passes. The construction of a railway along the Sea of Azov and the development of port infrastructure are underway here. In your opinion, how effectively can the ports and waters of the Sea of Azov be used as a transport route, taking into account its shallow depth?

— The sea is really shallow. If you look at history, these are the remains of the Sarmatian Sea. The depth is 11-13 m. But our fathers and grandfathers were not stupid people. They have built Berdyansk and Mariupol ports, which are capable of receiving vessels with a draft of up to 7.9 m. We normally ship 12 and even 15 thousand ton vessels. First of all, we ship grain, but also scrap metal, ore, coal, cement, and salt.

The port has always provided a cargo turnover of up to 3 million tons per year, and we plan to reach these figures in a year. Of course, the enemy is interfering with us, because they are hitting the port. But we will still properly protect its infrastructure now, and improve it thanks to the working group [on the development and modernization of commercial seaports in the Zaporizhia region]. Marat Shakirzyanovich Khusnullin.

Today, full control over the operation of ports is carried out — this applies to both the DPR and our territories, including the Mariupol port. There are also other promising areas. In general, we pin great hopes on the development of the port infrastructure and grain export. This year we expect to receive at least 2.5 million tons. The main task is to ensure its transshipment through the Berdyansk port. We will try to do this.

"Camps and recreation centers are already operating on Berdyansk Spit"

— I understand that it is difficult to talk about this in the current conditions, but are the foundations for the development of tourism already being laid? How is this even possible?

— The Zaporizhia region, as you correctly noted, is not only an industrial and agricultural region, but also an area of important logistical importance. If we talk about tourism, its share in the income of the region was relatively small even in stable times. Nevertheless, it exists and, to a greater or lesser extent, will develop depending on the situation.

Of course, there are objective difficulties today. The enemy is hitting fuel trucks, and today we have fuel shortages due to the attacks. But again, these are solvable issues — there are no unsolvable tasks, there are only those who do not know how to solve them. Therefore, as for tourism, now we are primarily developing Berdyansk, as it is more protected.

Berdyansk spit is accessible, there are camps and recreation centers. At the same time, we understand that the download will not be complete even with a very favorable season in terms of weather. Unfortunately, the investment and tourism climate in the region is not the best yet.

"Business is gradually returning to the region"

— There is a free economic zone in the Zaporizhia region. How actively does Russian business enter here? Is there any interest from companies from other regions of the country, or is the business still taking a wait-and-see attitude? How is the overall situation now?

— We have large enterprises, including almost all major banks. Maybe some of them are still more actively deployed in the DPR, but in the future they will be with us. In any case, the presence of banks is already an indicator of the arrival of large businesses.

In addition, large construction companies such as Crocus, which built large facilities in Crimea and on an island in the Pacific Ocean, are entering the region. That is, large companies are building in our country today.

We deliberately rely on rating companies to minimize the risks of, say, an unfinished facility. This is especially important, given that the region has a preferential mortgage at 2%, which is actually an exclusive support measure introduced on behalf of the president. Therefore, the key task is to provide people with guaranteed and high—quality housing.

Moreover, any person who is registered with us can take advantage of these conditions. Please come and work with us, get an official job, and we will give you 2%. We also have an Industry Development Fund program. The loan rate ranges from 2% to 6%. This applies primarily to large businesses — small ones have their own program. Companies can raise hundreds of millions of rubles through the fund to purchase industrial equipment, machine tools, and elevators. In general, this is a whole sector that we have in operation today.

I would like to mention the work of Marat Shakirzyanovich Khusnullin separately. He recently came with a proposal to expand the conditions. Previously, preferential mortgages extended to amounts up to 6 million rubles, and above this limit a person paid extra himself, now it is planned to increase the threshold to 9 million rubles. These are excellent conditions and quite a large number of people use them today.

I would also like to say that there are programs in the region to restore dilapidated and destroyed housing. People who have lost their homes or find themselves in a difficult life situation — large families, people with disabilities and other categories — are given a choice: either monetary compensation within the established quotas, or the provision of housing. All major federal support programs are also in effect, and they are fully operational on our territory.

"We have all the necessary prerequisites for growth"

— Do these measures contribute to population growth? Does the number of people remain the same, increase or decrease?

— The situation is quite permanent, it is definitely impossible to assess it. In order not to mislead, I will not say that everyone comes to us or that everyone wants to live with us. We rely on different indicators, we judge by election results, bread consumption, phone cards, we have our own methods. In general, there is now an approximate balance, and the population is estimated at about 700 thousand people. At the same time, we are talking about the territory excluding the five districts of Zaporizhia, which have not yet been liberated.

Gulyai-Pole district and Stepnogorsk have also joined. The large number of military personnel has a very strong influence on the situation. Their salaries are good. Sometimes it happens that it is difficult to buy good meat. Muslims actively buy meat and vegetables. Therefore, sometimes there are distortions in the market for meat and vegetables, which leads to higher prices.

We realize that we need to develop our industry, agriculture, and all branches of the national economy in such a way as to be self-sufficient. I don't want the region to be an acceptor that will pull out of the budget all the time. I want us to be self-sufficient and earn our own money, because we can do it. Today, we already provide half of our income, more than 30 billion out of 55 billion, through our own tax collections.

And as soon as our port starts operating, when the resort sector and the fishing industry are all that should work on our territory, we will reach a completely different level and even be able to become a donor region for the budget. We have all the necessary prerequisites for this. Imagine, just the launch of a nuclear power plant will provide employment for about 11.5 thousand people and ensure stable tax revenues. When all the fields will be operational... And we have a huge segment of deposits, starting from premium iron ore, as well as ferromanganese, tantalum, lithium, graphite, granite, sand, gold, platinum.

The launch of all these industries in full will give a powerful increase in the revenue side of the budget and will become the basis for the long-term economic development of the region.

"Under Ukraine, the development of the region has noticeably lagged behind what was expected"

— How important is participation in the SPIEF for you and what results do you expect from it?
— First of all, I want to convey information about our region, something that many people simply do not know about today. I am grateful to the editors and to you personally for the opportunity. Someone visited Zaporizhia 30 years ago or more, and a whole generation has grown up since then. And some people have no idea what kind of territory it is.

Therefore, the forum is an opportunity to express oneself, to represent the region, as well as to hear new ideas and approaches. I regularly return from such events, not only with signed agreements with companies and partners. It is very important that you can see solutions here that you can then apply at home. For example, in medicine and education, we are already using the things that are implemented in Tatarstan or Bashkortostan.

We didn't have such an exchange of experience before, and we slowed down a lot in Ukraine, even though we thought we were keeping up with the times. But, as Zhvanetsky said, our shoes seem good if you don't see the others. Therefore, such communications provide a lot. Even communication itself, including with you today, is also an important and rewarding experience.