OREANDA-NEWS. January 4, 2012. Yuri Kancher, First Deputy Head of the Republic of Karelia, has held a session of the working group on assistance to mobilization of investments in the republic. The key issues discussed at the session of the working group were what was made to reduce the terms of endorsement and implementation of investment projects in Karelia and what measures were taken in the region to eliminate bureaucratic barriers on the way of investors.

Creation of favorable conditions for mobilization of investments into economy of Karelia is, first of all, promoted by implementation of activities of the Guidelines of Investment Policy of the Government of the Republic of Karelia in 2011-2015. As Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the RK Sergey Alimpiev has informed, these activities provide preparation of the infrastructure necessary for investors: systems of support and administration of investment projects, engineering and transport infrastructures, building activity, reduction of administrative barriers interfering the investment process.

Besides, the Interdepartmental commission on distribution and development of productive forces in territory of the region under the direction of the Head of Karelia was launched this year. Its main task is the complex analysis of investment applications for projects.

Implementation of any investment project begins with allotment of land and construction permit application, which is the stage when most of the endorsements are conducted. The regional program of Elimination of Administrative Barriers in Construction in the Republic of Karelia in 2011-2015 is called to eliminate obstacles in their way. According to Minister of Construction of the RK Alexander Efimov, obstacles in promotion of investment projects at the stage of construction may be eliminated, first of all, through creation of a system of documents of territorial planning and town-planning zoning of the republic. On results of 2011 documents of territorial planning will appear in 34% of municipal formations. The work on schemes of territorial planning of municipal regions and general plans of city districts will be fully performed. Development of all general plans by 2013 will allow municipalities to define how they are going to develop the territory which the investor intends to build on. Besides, a starting point for the investor should become selection of a ready town-planning solution instead of searching the undeveloped territory.

The republic also has to simplify procedures of building land formation and allocation, connection to engineering networks, carrying out of the state expert appraisal of the project documentation and results of engineering research, issuing of building permits and commissioning of objects of capital construction. Thus, for example, the term of examination of investment projects is reduced considerably – from 90 to 60 days.

Procedures of building land formation and allocation for construction of investment projects in Karelia will be optimized by one more document – the draft Regulations about terms and sequences of document processing when allocation of ground areas for construction with the preliminary endorsement of places of distribution of objects from land areas which state ownership is not differentiated. Sortavala will become a pilot area where the new order of this work will be tested first.

The regions are preparing their regulations that will simplify and make transparent the procedure of issuing construction, reconstruction, major overhaul and commissioning permits on the objects of capital construction. In eight municipal formations of the republic such regulations are already adopted and runs. In others work will be completed by the end of the year.

Multipurpose centers granting state and municipal services, working on the "one contact" principle will also help to reduce the time of reinvestment cycle in construction at formation of ground areas, delivery of town-planning plans, construction permits considerably.

As a result, Yuri Kancher has noted, Karelia will have a new system of work which will make active investment and building processes, reduce terms of the investment period, improve availability, transparency and quality of granting the state and municipal services in the sphere of town-planning activity.

– It is important that investors come to the republic, taxes fill the budget, and every invested rouble gets repaid. The more active and more quick it occurs, the better it is for the republic and its future. therefore, it is necessary to regulate and supervise precisely terms of document processing, to watch strictly execution of the legislation and to eliminate excessive coordination, having left only the most necessary and obligatory procedures, – Yuri Kancher has told.

The working group has approved results of the work done and recommended administrations of local self-governments to speed up work on creation of multipurpose centers, to develop and accept necessary statutes, regulations and administrative rules in time. Together with other executive bodies the State Law Committe of the RK is entrusted to develop the list of the municipal statutes and regulations concerning the order and terms of endorsement of investment projects, procedures of adoption of permits, as well as issues of building land allocation.