THE VORONEZH REGION
The general information
The Voronezh Region is one of the biggest after the Moscow one within the Central Federal District among other 18 subjects of the Russian Federation by territory, population and economic potential. The Region is situated in the middle of water-field of the Don river, about 600 kilometers to the South-East of Moscow. The advantage of the Regional dislocation is stipulated by favourable climate conditions and the geographical position in the centre of the European part of Russia in immediate proximity to well-developed regions and in the junction of transport communications that connect the Region with the industrial districts of Russia and CIS.
The territory of the Region is 52,4 thousand square kilometres. The population is 2,4 million people, including 62,7% city and 37,3% country population. The working population is 1,4 million people, that is 60,3 % of the total amount. The population distribution system includes 15 towns, 21 workers’ settlements and 1872 country villages. The administrative and territorial system of the Region consists of the city of Voronezh (975,7 thousand people), the city of Novovoronezh (39,4 thousand people), 32 municipal entities of the district level and 514 rural entities.
The Region has got a well-developed network of transport communications. Since 1995 the Voronezh airport has got the international status. There are two river ports on the territory of the Region (in Liski and Voronezh). Shipping domestic water ways length is 573 kilometre. There is an opportunity to provide shipping connection through the Don river to the Azov, Caspian and Black seas.
The South-Eastern Railway is one of the most powerful railways in the transport system of Russia. It connects the centre of the European part of the country with the Northern Caucasus, the Volga regions, the Ukraine and the Eastern part of Russia. It renders its services to the Central Black Soil Region, partially to the Saratov, Volgograd, Rostov, Tula, Ryazan and Penza regions. The length of the South-Eastern Railway main line comprises about 4,3 thousand kilometres. The total length of the railways within the Region is 1189 kilometres.
The Region has got a modern system of telecommunications. In the territory of the Region every 60 out of 100 families are provided with home telephones. The Voronezh Region has gained the leading position in Russia according to the level of telephone installing.
Industry
There are more than 300 large and medium-sized industrial enterprises in the Region, most of them are joint-stock companies. The leading branches are electric power industry, mechanical engineering, oil and chemical industry, food industry.
The Voronezh Region occupies the 7th place among the regions of the Central Federal District according to the volume of industrial production. In 2002 the proportion of the Voronezh Region within the total volume of industrial production of the Central Federal District was 4,2%.
The Voronezh Region enterprises produce air-buses Ilyushin-96, rocket engines for airspace machinery, oil-field equipment, excavators and mining equipment, metal-cutting tools and forge- and pressing machines, synthetic rubber, fertilizers, automobile tyres, spirits, liquor and alcoholic drinks. The nuclear power station situated in the City of Novovoronezh is one of the biggest in Russia. The largest industrial plants of the Region are “The Voronezh Aircraft Producing Company”, “The Voronezh Mechanical Factory”, “Voronezhsyntezkauchuk” (“The Voronezh Synthetic Rubber Company”), “The Voronezh Tyre Producing Company”, “Videofon”, “The Voronezh Plant of Steel Aluminium Constructions”, “Rudgormash” (“The Voronezh Mining Machinery Producing Company”), “Pavlovskgranit” (The Pavlovsk Granite Producing Company”), “Minudobreniya” (“The Mineral Fertilizers Producing Company”), “Voronezhstalmost” (“The Voronezh Bridge Constructing Company”), “Tyazhmekhpress” (“The Voronezh Heavy Mechanical Presses Producing Company”), “VVRZ imeni Telmana” (“The Voronezh Railway Cars Repairing Factory named after Telman”), “The Voronezh Railway Diesel Locomotives Repairing Factory named after Dzerzhinsky”, “ The Voronezh Ceramic Factory” and others.
Agriculture
The regional land resources compound 5,2 millions of hectares. The total area of agricultural lands is 4,2 millions of hectares, or 80,7% of all land resources. The agricultural land occupies 3,8 millions of hectares, including 2,9 millions of hectares of plough land. There are 243 thousands of people (16,9 % of the quantity of labour resourses) engaged in the agricultural sector of the economy. Plant growing (59 %) prevails in the structure of the gross output of agriculture. The farms of the Region are specialized in the production of grain, sugar beet, sun flower, fruit and vegetables, in cattle and pork breeding, poultry keeping. The farms deliver raw materials to the food processing enterprises, producing sugar, vegetable oil, fruit and vegetable products, meat and meat processing products, milk and animal oil.
In 2002 the gross output volume of the agriculture in current prices of all categories of farms made 25,2 billions rubles (102,1 % of the 2001 year level in comparable prices), which constitutes 2,4 % of the Russian Federation agricultural gross output cost. Among the Regions of the Central Federal District the Voronezh Region takes the first place by the production volumes of grain, sugar beet, sun flower; the second and third places by the production volumes of milk and meat accordingly. The specific weight of the Voronezh Region within the total production volume of the Russian Federation compounds: 11,8 % of vegetable oil; 29,5 % of granulated sugar produced from the sugar beet.
Investments
The total amount of investments at the fixed capital of the Voronezh Region summing up all the financial sources in 2002 was equal to 470 mln. USD, that is 132% to the level of 2001, among them the total amount of the foreign investments in 2002 was equal to 24,3 mln.USD.
According to the official information of the Social and Economic Development Institute of the Central Federal District, the Voronezh Region as well as the Belgorod, the Moscow and the Yaroslavl Regions, belongs to the four regions among 17 subjects of the Central Federal District having the highest investments growth rate (after the Moscow city).
The Voronezh Region welcomes both native and foreign investors and creates favourable legal basis for their activity. In 2002 a number of regional laws were adopted to establish organisational, legal and economic basis of the state (regional) support to the investment activity on the territory of the Voronezh Region, as well as its forms and terms of rendering.
In order to realise the investment policy of the Regional Administration and to improve the investment climate there the Regional Law «On the state (regional) support of the investment activity» was adopted to provide concrete measures of the state support to the investment process, including:
- subsidies for the part of the rate interest on credit (drawn to the realisation of the investment projects) at the expense of the regional budget means;
- guarantees to ensure the commitments on credit at the expense of the objects of the regional pledge fund;
- assignment of the investment tax credit for the period of realisation of the investment project.
Besides, much attention is paid to promote active cooperation with potential investors (both native and foreign), banks and other financial institutions as partners of the Voronezh Region.
Particular attention is paid to co-operation with investors in the agricultural sphere as well. At present the number of investors participating in integration process is more than 70, with their help 110 integration associations were established on the basis of 170 agricultural enterprises. The structural units established with the participation of investors cultivate nearly 25% of the tillage used in agricultural production of the Region where more than 30 thousand people are engaged.
In 2002 more than 2 milliard Rbl were invested to develop the agrarian sector of the Region.
Science and education
The higher educational institutions of the Voronezh Region includes 11 state civil universities and institutes, 7 branches of the Russian and Moscow state universities, besides the Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the Military Institute of Radio Electronics and the Military Aviation Engineering Institute.
The higher education disposes of great innovation potential, including innovation technological centres, laboratories and products certification centres, the centre for collective usage of unique equipment, experimental centres, scientific museums and others.
The Voronezh educational institutions have good training and scientific basis: the Regional Laboratory of Electronic Microscopy, the Centre for Training and Retraining of Municipal and State Service Staff of the Black Soil Region, the Regional Centre of New Informational Technologies, the Regional Cryogen Centre, the Regional Laboratory of Mechanical Researches and other scientific branches, able to satisfy the needs of the main fields of the Region.
Scientific co-operation is being actively developed on the international level. 13 Voronezh educational and scientific institutions are engaged in jointed scientific programs and projects with foreign organisations from 56 countries of the world. 618 enterprises of small-scale business deal with science and scientific service.
The Department of Foreign Economic Development
And International Co-operation of
The Voronezh Region Administration
2003
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