MOSCOW, July 16 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin criticized the federal government and local authorities Tuesday over their failure to ensure effective development of Russia’s Far East, Rossiya 24 TV Channel reported.
“Are you going to work, or what?” he asked participants at a development meeting for the Sakhalin region, which he said has everything needed to become a global level energy center.
Only 20 percent of regional development targets set in December have been met, Putin said. He called on officials to get moving without delay, particularly in problem areas like transport and energy.
Putin previously criticized the Finance Ministry for only providing 296 billion rubles (about $9.5 billion) for the Far East Development Program until 2020, although the program was approved with an estimated budget of 3.8 trillion rubles through 2025.
Oil giant Rosneft's CEO Igor Sechin told Putin earlier on Tuesday the Russian state oil company could invest around 1 trillion rubles in the development of East Siberia and the Far East in the next five years, including 52 billion rubles this year.
