MOSCOW, January 16 (Itar-Tass) — Moscow’s authorities are ready to reduce the city’s population by about a quarter by encouraging people to move. However, nobody will be forced to resettle, the mayor's office has promised. 

The Moscow City Architecture Committee published on its website the regulation on the tender for drafting a concept of the development of the agglomeration of Moscow and the Moscow region. It is designed for 30-50 years, and 10 groups of authors will be selected for its preparation. Each of the group is offered 250,000 euros. The contracts are to be signed by February 24, Vedomosti writes.

On January 1, 2011, Moscow's population was 11.552 million, according to the regulation, the city has almost exhausted its resources, the pressure on its transport, environment and the social sector is too large. To create a normal environment, it is necessary to unload the city, especially its historical centre, where 35 percent of jobs are concentrated, according to the set task. The regulation also gives the numbers: with the projected growth of the Moscow population (resident and visiting) it is necessary to reduce it to 8.5-9 million people, i.e., to settle over 2.5 million Muscovites in the present territory of the Moscow region. The capital should have at least 1 million (currently 6.3 million) less jobs, and the Moscow region – 1.5 million more jobs. Then less residents of the region will be coming to Moscow, the Moscow City Architecture Committee hopes. The regulation does not give the details, saying only that it is necessary to elaborate in more detail the prospects for the attachment to Moscow of 150,000 hectares of land between the Kiev and Warsaw highways – such towns as Klimovsk, Troitsk and Shcherbinka will be merged with it.