"Our GDP estimate for this year is 6.5%," Andrei Klepach said on the sidelines of the financial and economic council of EURASEC (a post-Soviet alliance, the Eurasian Economic Community) countries in southern Russia.
The official said the new forecast took into account the dynamics in the first two months of 2007, industrial output growth and expectations of higher growth.
Klepach also said that development institutions would soon start operating, which could affect investment growth.
In addition, he said, his ministry was hopeful the "ambitious" investment programs of Russia's gas and electricity giants, Gazprom [RTS: GAZP] and the Unified Energy System of Russia [RTS: EESR], respectively, would be "more realistic."
"We have circulated the forecast among the departments concerned and plan to submit it to the government April 12, which is due to consider it April 19," Klepach said.
He said the forecasts for GDP growth for 2008-2010 had also been revised from 5.9%, 5.9% and 6.1% to 6.1%, 6.0% and 6.2%, respectively.
Among other things, the Russian Economic Development and Trade Ministry also reviewed its forecast for gas output in 2010 from 722 billion cubic meters to 717 billion cubic meters, Klepach said.
The economics ministry readjusted its initially higher forecast to Gazprom's estimate, and said it expected Gazporm and independent gas companies to produce 717 billion cubic meters of gas.
The ministry's forecast for industrial output growth in 2007 will now be 5.2%, up from the previous 4.3%, Klepach said, and the 2010 investment forecast will rise from 9.8% to 11.5%.
