The region has joined the ranks of 30 pilot areas where the regional investment standard is to be introduced this year.
The standard provides an opportunity for local enterprises, public associations and authorities to come to agreements through a clear and plain language.
Each region is interested in efficient introduction of the standard. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said in his address that it would serve as an admission ticket for receiving federal support measures both through investment tax deduction and other means of promoting investment climate development.
The regional standard is primarily about development vector and the work to promptly launch projects rather about dry theory and instructions.
Our investment declaration is a document that specifies industries expected to develop in the near term, areas worth investing in, and types of infrastructure that local authorities will be able to provide for supporting the business at a state level – such as roads, engineering networks, or social infrastructure.
Another large cluster of work involves standardization of routine procedures that businesses undergo on a regular basis, such as connecting to power grids, obtaining construction permits, and allocating and surveying land plots. This all has to be made transparent and accessible for business under the regional standard.
Currently, a construction permit in the Orenburg Region is issued within a maximum of 60 days. We are making efforts aiming to reduce the time for connecting to grids to a maximum of 48 days.
A separate module of the standard includes digitization of investor-related procedures. Works is now underway to develop or deploy an investment map in each constituent entity of Russia; the map includes such accessible platforms as Greenfield or Brownfield, as well as data on resources extracted in the region. The aim is to provide comprehensive information on the local business geography and investment opportunities to a potential investor.
We already created such map two years ago. The investment website investinorenburg.ru contains information about each municipality in the region and specifies land plots as well as available power grids. Also, the seti56.ru website is up and running to provide prompt information on related organizations.
Any business owner who visits our website can choose a land plot and use the feedback form to immediately contact the Investor Relations Agency.
Overall, a regional investment standard is a set of simple regulations that are comprehensible for businesses and mandatory in any region of our country. It is tailored to provide the most comfortable conditions for doing business locally and for any entrepreneur in the region to get an understanding of industries and niches to make investments in, and also get familiarized with people responsible for working with investors in the region.
By Ignat Petukhov, Vice Governor, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic and Investment Policy at the Government of the Orenburg Region