OREANDA-NEWS. May 30, 2011. “It is clear that bad roads objectively hinder Russia’s economic development and are having a negative impact on safety and the environment. Of course, we have been working recently to improve the situation. We have gathered good speed in road building, even in spite of the crisis.”
Vladimir Putin’s opening remarks:

Ladies and gentlemen,

We have been shown prospective road-building and other equipment to be manufactured here, at this plant in Tver. I hope you will start to manufacture it soon. We have also attended the signing of two agreements to produce this equipment with American and German partners. And now we will discuss the purpose to which it should be applied – road construction, which is one of the primary industries for which this equipment is manufactured. This is a very important issue, but I don’t need to tell that to this professional audience.

The first Social Business Forum was held in Moscow last week, at which we discussed the country’s development strategy. I will not tell you anything new. Everyone knows it, and business leaders and heads of regional administrations all spoke about this painful issue – namely, inadequate infrastructure, and in this case bad roads.

It is clear that bad roads objectively hinder Russia’s economic development and are having a negative impact on safety and the environment. Of course, we have been working recently to improve the situation. We have gathered good speed in road building, even in spite of the crisis. We allocated considerable funds towards the construction, modernisation, and maintenance of roads: as much as 2.7 trillion roubles from 2002 to 2010. This year, another 700 billion will be allocated from federal and regional funds, which is 40% more than last year.

You know that we have completed the Chita-Khabarovsk highway. I am pleased to repeat that it was a major event for the country.