MOSCOW, November 11. / TASS /. The effect of the pandemic on the economy and other aspects of Moscow life will be felt until May, said the city mayor, Sergei Sobyanin on Wednesday.
"In the month of May," he said at the Strong Ideas for the New Time forum, answering the question of when the coronavirus situation will stop affecting the economy.
Earlier, he said that more than 700 bln rubles (about $9 bln) of borrowed funds were set aside in the draft Moscow budget for three years due to the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Moscow authorities will not curtail budget spending in 2021, even given the decrease in revenues due to the pandemic; for this, the city will enter the borrowings market for the first time in more than 10 years. Moscow budget expenditures in 2021 may be at the level of 2020 and amount to 3.15 trillion rubles (about $41 billion). In total, next year it is planned to attract up to 396 bln rubles (about $5 bln).
The Moscow government has formed a socially oriented budget. More than 56% of the city's expenditures, which is 1.8 trillion rubles (about $25 billion), will be directed to the social sphere. Healthcare spending, which has become an unconditional priority of the 2021 budget, will grow by 12% to 447.1 bln rubles (about $5.8 billion). Also, the capital's spending on social support to Moscow residents in cash and other forms of support is increasing.