Uri Pustovgarov: “The center for business support should be relocated to municipalities”

The forum “Business undertakings: small towns and territories – the points of growth”, which is to be held in Sterlitamac and Ufa on November 24-25, should become a powerful impulse for development of small business in small towns. The Trade-Industry Chamber RB intends to show the availability of idle infrastructure in such towns and the opportunities for using of such territories for business. The relocation of business support fr om the center to municipalities and the change of attitude to development of small and medium business should become the main trends. The President of the Trade-Industry Chamber RB Uri Pustovgarov indicated the key subjects at the forthcoming business forum at today's briefing.

According to him it will be a revision of what is available in small towns. The Republic is conventionally divided into 12 industrial-logistic zones, except Ufa and Sterlitamac. The map, which is to be demonstrated at the forum, will show free and still not used areas. The map will visually show where one can and should invest, wh ere it is cheaper to make the infrastructure and specializations: for instance, woodworking in the northeast, machine-building in the northwest etc. For example, JSC “POLYEF” in Blagoveshensk has about 15000 square meters of free areas, suitable for opening about 600 workplaces.

“The state allocates serious money for development of small business on the municipal territories but for that we need concrete business-plans and real projects” - Uri Pustovgarov said - “We want to become the pilot region on development of business undertakings in this direction but this is a long-term work, meant for five-seven years”.

Really, the possibilities for business development are to the fore. For example, Beloretsky, Utchalinsky and Burziansky regions can be combined into a separate industrial-logistic zone. According to the map these regions have 20 thousand empty square meters. In opinion of Uri Pustovgarov the town of Beloretsk must have the whole fleet of small and medium enterprises around the Belorestky metallurgical plant, able to process a part of the plant's output into components and wares for cars, housing and communal services, building sphere etc. “Beloretsk can become the center of hardware production” - said Uri Pustovgarov.

“ We have to leave the system of for distribution of means among businessmen” - he said - “The practice shows that this step often appears to be inefficient but financial support of municipal territories and small towns will be a step forward in development of business undertakings”.