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Transdniester receives 2nd tranche of RF humanitarian aid – official

Transdniester has received the second tranche of Russian aid at the amount of 100 million roubles

TIRASPOL, November 9 (Itar-Tass) — Transdniester has received the second tranche of Russian aid at the amount of 100 million roubles, deputy chairman of the Transdniester Supreme Council Mikhail Burla said.

Speaking at a plenary session on Wednesday, Burla said the funding as the first tranche would be used to lend to small business in Transdniester.

Totally, Transdniester hopes to receive Russian aid of 300 million roubles. The first tranche of 100 million roubles came to the republic at the end of August and it was practically distributed in full, Burla noted.

Russia started its humanitarian aid to Transdniester in 2007 after deputies of the Renovation party asked the State Duma for assistance. Since then over two billion roubles have been provided to the republic. This funding was used to render loans to the Transdniester farm enterprises. These loans were designed to renovate machinery and equipment, as well as to plant gardens. In 2010 financing was suspended due to reports on possible fraud of Russian humanitarian aid.

Earlier, Transdniester parliament speaker Anatoly Kaminsky said Russia’s financial aid had made it possible for Transdniester farmers to more than double the output of agricultural produce, Anatoly Kaminsky.

“A very considerable growth in the farming sector has occurred here since the start of Russia’s financial aid,” Kaminsky said.

He indicated that, in terms of costs, the output went up to one billion roubles in 2008 from 492 million roubles in 2007, thus marking an increase by a factor of 2.5.

In 2010, the figure showed 1.2 billion rubles and the share of agriculture in the republic’s Gross Domestic Product went up to 5% from the initial 1% in that period of time.

Since 2008, the Dniester Republic has received 214 million rubles as part of Russia’s aid program. The monies were then issued to local farmers in the form of soft loans.

The recipients have reimbursed almost a half of the loans by now and these funds have been issued in loans to other borrowers, Kaminsky said.

For the most part, the farmers use the loans for upgrading their fleets of agricultural machinery and organising perennial plantations, he said.