Ilsur Metshin: "Kazan gets free of provinciality"

(KZN.RU, March 3, Elena Chembaeva). The IV session of Kazan City Duma of the second convocation is held today in the City Hall. The participants are Prime Minister Ildar Khalikov, Deputy Chairperson of RT State Council Alexander Gusev, ministers, deputies, heads of enterprises.

Ilsur Metshin, Mayor of Kazan gave a report on results of 2010.

Mayor noted that Kazan paid serious attention to the social sector as well as to economy. “Despite the crisis we didn’t let the collapse in funding for public sector, but found money for development and upgrading of education, health care, sport”, he noted.  

Mayor reminded that in 2003 Kazan Council of People’s Deputies adopted a strategy for Kazan development till 2015. He stressed that for 7 years of its realization they had achieved much of intended targets. 

Despite the crises the number of small and medium business had doubled in Kazan for the latest 5 years; only for the last year about 5 thousand new business appeared. Ilsur Metshin charged to elaborate new program for development and support of small business.

Mayor told that Five Years of Health program was approved by almost 85% of citizens.

“Thanks to President of Tatarstan we put 23 kindergartens into operation and 5 kindergartens after reconstruction. This is an unprecedented scope of kindergartens for our capital, and we fully provide places for children above 3 years”, he feels certain.

Under the presidential social mortgage program we put a record amount of dwelling – 240 thousand square meters. 

Mayor of Kazan announced that last week Minister of Natural Recourses and Environment of the Russian Federation Yuri Trutnev together with President of Tatarstan endorsed a project on protection of environment. “The project amounts to 7.3 billion rubles. It includes construction and reconstruction of storm flows, reconstruction of biological purification plant of Vodokanal, clean of Kaban Lake, construction of embankments, reconstruction of pump plant, recultivation of Samosyrovskaya dump, and construction of a new hard domestic waste landfill. Cityscape will be changed dramatically”, Ilsur Metshin considers.

“We have begun to work on the energy efficient project and now we see plurality of resources. This is future money saving for the population. We’d like to obtain tangible results in the nearest time”, Mayor stressed.

Ilsur Metshin settled upon the preservation of historical and cultural monuments which Kazan has over 500. “The budget doesn’t cover their renovation but it needs significant means; investors don’t want to put money into it and law doesn’t allow us to interfere in the process. We are trying to find ways of solving problems. There are some results: monuments renovation program on the eve of the Universiade in the central part of Kazan which includes 61 objects”, Mayor noted.

“Our aims are ambitious – to make Kazan known all over the world, attractive for business, tourism, and investments, to make city comfortable for citizens”, I. Metshin noted.

Ilsur Metshin also underlined a one more important project – a common idea of the city lighting. The idea is elaborated by specialists having a longstanding work experience: they deal with the lighting of the Olympic park in Sochi, the State Academic Bolshoi Theater.

“This will be an absolutely new way in city design, new light environment. Every street, every building will be lighted taking into account all artistic, architectural, and technical requirements”, Mayor noted. Lighting design will be received in March.

Finishing his report, Ilsur Metshin told that whatever last year was contradictory “we are moving forward and keeping stated objectives – complex upgrading of our Republic”.   

“Great investments are put in the city, infrastructure is developing at a quick pace, up-to-date innovations are introduced in the municipal service, public institutions are developing, and citizenly engagement is strengthen. But the main thing is that the city environment and citizens are being changed. The city opens for other countries, faces the future steadily, gets free of provinciality”, Mayor underlined.   

Ilsur Metshin thanked leadership of the Republic, all employees of the social sphere, law enforcement officers, entrepreneurs and all citizens for their work.