Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the socioeconomic development of the St Petersburg metropolitan area. Key points:
Overall, the St Petersburg metropolitan area accounts for 8.5 percent of Russia’s total processing industries and around 7.5 percent of the country’s GDP. The economic capacity of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region must be increased in a comprehensive way based on the long-term development plans for the entire region.
Key goals include strengthening priority industries such as shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals, etc., realizing the potential of the services and creative industries, expanding foreign trade infrastructure, including through the development of ports and terminals.
All this will make it possible to increase the output of high-tech products and services and to create a base for opening new companies and thus to increase the sustainability and diversification of the overall economy in the region.
While resolving economic problems, we should simultaneously step up efforts to build housing and social infrastructure facilities, and create an environment that will allow us to reveal the rich tourism potential of the region at a new level.
It is important to improve the efficiency of the regional healthcare system including primary healthcare, and to improve medical care especially for families with children.
To insure successful development of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, it is necessary to fully employ the urban planning potential of these territories, to implement complex projects that improve the quality of life and boost growth in related sectors of the regional economy. These include projects on road infrastructure and a reliable transport system for the metropolitan area.
Source