ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/. The Smart City project could be a solution for Russia’s remote regions, the Norilsk Nickel Company’s Senior Vice President Sergei Malyshev said during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"For our company, which two in three assets are located in severe climate conditions, and which has a high-level ecology agenda and other specific features, the deficit of human resources from the mainland is very sensitive," he said. "We care for improvement of living conditions, the ecology situation, and additional growth points in the region."
"One of the solutions could be Smart City," he added.
According to the company’s representative, Nornickel has been facing infrastructure-related problems, which are typical for remote territories. One of the examples is implementation of the project to lay about 1,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cable to Norilsk to offer broadband access to the Internet there.
"We have found resources and competences to do it - Norilsk used to be Russia’s biggest city without the broadband Internet - 180,000 people did not have that access to information," he said.
The Smart City project began in Russia in 2018, and from 2019 it continues under a national program. Using federal standards, the regions adopt their programs to implement the project.
About the forum
The 2019 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is being held on June 6-8. The event’s motto this year is "Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda." The forum’s organizer is the Roscongress Foundation. TASS is a media partner, the official photo hosting agency and the operator of SRIEF’s presentation zones with support from multinational firm EY, and the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Russia.