MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. The preferential regime, effective in the Russian Arctic Zone, favored investments of 17 billion rubles ($186 million) in the Arkhangelsk Region's Severodvinsk, the city's Mayor Igor Arsentiev told the 6th International Municipal BRICS Forum.

"Business residency in the Russian Federation's Arctic Zone is a key factor in development of the city's economy. <...> The Arctic Zone's significant tax breaks allow expanding activities of investors in the city, they have resulted in attracting of more than 17 billion rubles," he said. "Those are sufficiently big investments, which are used to solve socio-economic problems on a daily basis, and social tasks like the improvement of public areas, bus stops."

It is important for the city to maintain such a pace of attracting investors, he continued. "We are open to investors, both regional and from other regions. We offer 21 sites, and we are ready to develop them taking into account the Arctic Zone's specifics, the proximity of the Northern Sea Route and, of course, the growing domestic tourist flow."

The city's urban development potential

Severodvinsk's construction potential exceeds 100,000 square meters. "For this [to use the urban development potential], we are using several mechanisms. <...> First of all, a program of integrated development to involve vacant lots in the existing districts, in the city's old part, to create a comfortable environment for living in the old part of the city and also to accelerate the resettlement from dilapidated housing," he said.

As yet, the city has managed to resettle people from more than 5,500 square meters of dilapidated housing, he added.

"Another mechanism for integrated housing construction is large-scale investment projects in solving social problems. In addition to new housing, we may solve social problems without attracting budget funds," he explained. The social extra-budgetary investments in the city are more than 1.6 billion rubles ($17 million), he added.

About the city

Severodvinsk is a large industrial, scientific and technical center in Russia's North. The population is more than 156,000. The area is 120 square kilometers. The city is located in the Arkhangelsk Region's northwest, some 35 km from Arkhangelsk, on the White Sea coast.