MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. Russia’s environmental regulator, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor), has concluded 30 agreements with domestic companies to provide consulting on new investment projects regarding their compliance with environmental protection requirements, Rosprirodnadzor head Svetlana Radionova said at a working meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
In February 2022, the Russian president backed an initiative by the business community for launching a pilot program in which the regulatory agency would provide substantiated opinions on the environmental impact and compliance of investment projects. The pilot program was launched on December 1, 2022.
"We concluded 30 agreements with companies. These [agreements] are not just pieces of paper; we are supporting [investment] projects and helping to reduce the investment cycle and determining the best business solution when a company, naturally, seeks to save on resources while also achieving results," Radionova said.
The regulator is currently supporting the implementation of projects by gas giant Novatek in the Gydan Peninsula in the far northern Yamalo-Nenets Region, as well as projects for a mineral fertilizer plant in Nakhodka, Primorsky Region; Russian Railways projects; and infrastructure projects for developing the Northern Sea Route and the Northern Lateral Railway, she noted. "We are supporting all [of these projects] in the earliest phases [of implementation] and actually prevent potential [adverse] consequences and conflicts with our agency as the regulator and conflicts with the government. We [help our partner companies to] save plenty of time and a lot of money," Radionova emphasized.