Money magnet: new investments will be attracted to the Far East
The volume of investments attracted to the Far East reached 6.5 trillion rubles, which is higher than the planned 5.8 trillion rubles for this stage. By 2030, the goal remains to reach 12 trillion rubles. The Far East is developing faster than the Russian average: investments are 1.5 times higher, and industrial production is 1.2 times higher. How the investment climate in the Far Eastern Federal District will develop is in the Izvestia article.
Economy of the region
All 11 regions of the Far Eastern Federal District have adopted budgets for 2026 and the planning period 2027-2028. This year, a deficit is envisaged in all regions: the largest is in the Primorsky Territory, with more than 35 billion rubles, followed by the Sakhalin Region with 27 billion rubles. The Amur, Magadan and Jewish Autonomous Regions have planned the smallest gaps between income and expenses — less than 2 billion rubles.
The budget of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) remains the largest in terms of volume, with revenues and expenses exceeding 300 billion rubles. More than 117.4 billion rubles of revenue are provided by gratuitous receipts, including about 111 billion rubles of inter-budget transfers.
A significant part of the regions allocates their main funds to the social sphere, education and economic development. A number of Far Eastern regions expect to gradually get rid of the budget deficit. The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug plans to receive a surplus as early as 2027, the Kamchatka Territory — in 2028, and the Republic of Buryatia, Primorsky and Trans-Baikal Territories intend to complete 2028 with a deficit-free budget.
How and where money is attracted
There is a whole system of business benefits in the Far East. Investors have access to the territories of advanced development (TOP), the free port of Vladivostok, the regime of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, special conditions in the Kuril Islands and Russky Island. Thanks to this, companies receive tax breaks, simplified administrative procedures, ready-made infrastructure and customs preferences.
In addition, 16 priority development territories operate in the Far Eastern Federal District. Their residents are exempt from income and property taxes in the first five years, enjoy land tax and mineral extraction tax benefits, and also receive the right to apply the free customs zone regime and lease land without bidding, the office of Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev told Izvestia.
At the same time, the government actively supports major investment projects. So, from 2015 to 2025, 64.15 billion rubles were allocated for the creation of infrastructure, which helped attract over 2.3 trillion rubles of private investment. As of July 2026, about 3 thousand projects with a declared investment volume of 13.9 trillion rubles are being implemented in the district. 6.5 trillion rubles have already been invested, 1,103 enterprises have been opened and 185 thousand jobs have been created.
At the same time, new mechanisms for raising capital are emerging. For example, the International Territories of Advanced Development (MTOR) are designed for projects with investments starting from 500 million rubles. Residents receive tax benefits, reduced insurance premiums, guarantees of stable conditions for up to 15 years, the opportunity to attract foreign specialists and use ready-made infrastructure. At the same time, the authorities are trying to attract new residents. For this purpose, the "Hectare" programs, preferential mortgages at 2% and affordable rental housing are working.
As a result, more than 168 thousand people have received land plots, more than 185 thousand families have used the Far Eastern mortgage, and about 4 thousand families have already become participants in the rental housing program.
No less attention is paid to the quality of life. Thus, a single presidential subsidy, master plans for 25 cities, an improvement program and a Far Eastern concession are helping to build schools, hospitals, parks, airports, sports facilities and new residential areas. The total cost of master plan projects exceeds 3.6 trillion rubles.
At the same time, the system of training specialists is developing. Within the framework of the program "Priority 2030. The Far East" 14 universities received 6 billion rubles, and the construction of modern campuses continues in the regions. As a result, in 2025, the share of graduates who chose Far Eastern universities increased from 62% to 74%, and the interest of applicants from other regions increased fourfold.
In addition, the Muravyov-Amursky 2030 program is in place to train managers. During the four graduates, 207 people have completed training, many of whom already work as ministers, deputy ministers, advisers to governors and heads of development institutions. At the same time, the competition for the fifth stream reached 160 people per place.
Another area has become the creative economy. Thus, the Labor Quarter cluster is already operating in Yakutsk, where 193 companies have been opened, 755 jobs have been created, and total revenue has exceeded 1 billion rubles. By 2030, the network of creative spaces in the macroregion will be expanded to 100 thousand square meters, and new sites will open in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Ulan-Ude, Blagoveshchensk and Vladivostok.
Finally, the region's development is supported by large-scale infrastructure projects. By 2030, it is planned to build generation facilities with a capacity of 12.8 GW, increase the level of gasification to more than 50%, increase the capacity of the BAM and Transsib to 270 million tons, create 136 million tons of new port facilities, reconstruct 25 airports and bring passenger traffic within the Far Eastern Federal District to 4 million people per year.
The main challenges
The main problems of the Far East remain the decline in population as a result of migration and natural decline, as well as lagging behind the central regions of Russia in terms of living standards and infrastructure development. An additional factor remains the high dependence of the economy on raw materials industries with a huge area of the district.
The demographic situation continues to deteriorate: in recent years, the macroregion has lost hundreds of thousands of residents due to relocation to the European part of the country. The average life expectancy here is 1.5–2 years lower than the national level, and about 78% of those who die of working age are men.
The development of the region is also hampered by a large territory with a population density of less than 1 person per 1 square kilometer, expensive air travel and complex logistics between settlements. In addition, the economy is still based on coal, ore, oil, gas, and fishing, while there are not enough processing plants and a shortage of qualified personnel persists.
To further improve the investment climate and attract additional funds, it is necessary to maintain stable business conditions, provide projects with roads, energy and other infrastructure, as well as expand access to long-term and inexpensive financing, Ivan Abramov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, told Izvestia. Another important task remains to reduce the time required for approvals through the Single Window system, although this work is still ongoing in some regions.
The Far East also needs to rely on deep processing of raw materials. The priority areas remain the processing of gas, wood, fish and other natural resources, as well as the production of high-value-added products. In addition, the region needs investments in energy and infrastructure, as existing capacities are no longer sufficient for new production facilities.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Regional Development, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
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