SIMFEROPOL, September 04 /ITAR-TASS/. Crimea’s authorities are looking at creating a kind of a Crimean Silicon Valley in the territory of the peninsula, acting head of republic Sergei Aksyonov said in an article that was published in the Rossiiskaya Gazeta on Wednesday.
He said such innovation hub would host advanced communications and microelectronics facilities. At the same time, he called to take into account experience and achievements of the Soviet-era periods. “We can recall the productions of Photon television sets, ship-repair plants and shipyards, canned foods industry, agro-industrial gardening and greenhouse facilities, unique production of essential oil plants, etc,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.
He called to make more active use of advanced technologies in industrial and agrarian sectors. For these ends, he said it would be expedient to set up a Crimean branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
He said that the Crimean authorities were finalizing programmes of infrastructure development on the peninsula. A special council, in his words, was established to evaluate the quality and expediency of investment projects in Crimea.
“The most important thing for us is to see to it that an investor be registered in Crimea, pay taxes here and create jobs for locals,” he said. He admitted that the current level of investments - of about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars - was not enough. “Investors are keeping a close eye on the development of the political situation linked with sanctions against Russia and Crimea.