VLADIVOSTOK, November 22 (Itar-Tass) — First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov on Tuesday checked the implementation of the program for renovation of facades of buildings in Vladivostok for the 2012 APEC summit.
He examined a number of houses and was unhappy with their appearance, particularly with the colour layout. The first deputy prime minister particularly did not like the buildings painted in different shades of ochre. “If these are the solutions proposed by the architects, then such experts should be sent away,” Shuvalov said. “People should not get accustomed to such bad taste.”
“At present, the facades of some houses after renovation look as though they have not been touched at all,” he said. Shuvalov instructed the mayor of Vladivostok and governor of the Primorsky Territory not only to intensify the finishing work, but also take into account the peculiarities of the urban environment, so as not to spoil the maritime city’s unique design created by the first architects.
Renovation of facades of buildings in the city is conducted under the program of preparation of the city for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum’s summit that will be held here in 2012. The federal budget allocations for this purpose amount to 2.4 billion roubles, and more than 1.3 billion roubles were additionally transferred on Shuvalov’s personal order in the spring of 2011.
According to the Vladivostok administration, at present, 300 building facades are currently undergoing renovation. A special design was worked out for each house and the uniform concept of the dwelling houses’ colour scheme. The colour of natural materials - stone, clay, sand, wood - white, beige, ochre, gray, reddish-brown will be preferred colours in the residential buildings’ facing. Long-term warranty is provided for all the types of repairs.
RF First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov arrived in the Primorsky Territory on Tuesday for a working visit. During several days he intends to visit Vladivostok, Arsenyev, Nakhodka, Pogranichny and the Bolshoi Kamen restricted administrative and territorial entity. During the trip Shuvalov will check the fulfilment of his earlier instructions given within the framework of the preparation of the federal program “Economic and social development of the Far East and Trans-Baikal area.” The first deputy prime minister also plans to visit the Arsenyev Aviation Plant “Progress,” an agricultural fair, the Sollers automobile plant. He will open the third section of the De Friz Peninsula - Sedanka – Patrokl road and visit the local educational and medical institutions.
The capital of the Primorsky Territory is getting a new look for the APEC summit that will be held on the Russky Island in 2012. Under the program, tens of squares are to be reconstructed. Not only historical buildings, but also those that can be seen from the Amur Bay are to be repaired - nearly 900 buildings - most of them are dwelling houses. The work under the program was launched last year and should be completed by the end of 2011.
At present, the construction of more than 40 facilities for the APEC summit is underway in Vladivostok. Most of them will be completed by the end of this year. The deadlines for certain facilities have been shifted from the end of 2011 to the spring of 2012. They are the bridge across the Zolotoi Rog (Golden Horn) Bay, the Novy settlement – De-Friz Peninsula - Sedanka – Patrokl Bay highway with the low-level bridge De-Friz - Sedanka and part of the Patrokl Bay – Zolotoi Rog Bay motor road section. These facilities will be commissioned no later than May 31, 2012.
The 2012 APEC summit facilities in Vladivostok include roads, bridges, hotels, water and power supply facilities. In 2010, in accordance with the special federal program, the financing of the construction work on the Russky Island amounted to 29.3 billion roubles - 4.5 times more than in 2009. The proposal put forward for Russia to hold the 2012 summit on Russky Island was confirmed at the end of the APEC Australia 2007 summit in Sydney, Australia. At a press conference in Sydney, regional governor Sergei Darkin estimated the cost of hosting the summit at 147.5 billion roubles. The construction of infrastructure serving the summit, by Darkin experts’ estimates, would aid economic development in the Russian Far East and would see more than a six-fold increase of the gross regional product by 2020.
The APEC brings together 19 countries in the Asia-Pacific region and two territories - Hong Kong and Taiwan. Along with Russia this structure includes such economically important world powers such as Canada, China, Korea, Mexico, the United States and Japan. APEC is the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region. APEC is the only inter governmental grouping in the world operating on the basis of non-binding commitments, open dialogue and equal respect for the views of all participants. Unlike the WTO or other multilateral trade bodies, APEC has no treaty obligations required of its participants. Decisions made within APEC are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a voluntary basis. APEC has 21 members - referred to as “Member Economies” - which account for approximately 40.5 percent of the world’s population.