Valery Limarenko: key areas of activity of the Governor of the Sakhalin Region

This region is unique – it includes more than 30 islands, including Sakhalin and the Lesser and Greater Kuril Ridges. An area with a population of just under half a million people requires a special approach. Limarenko Valery Igorevich focused on the development of the social sphere and infrastructure.

Valeriy Limarenko has been in charge of the Sakhalin Region since 2019. Photo: KREMLIN.RU

Social sphere

“Caring for people is first of all,” is the principle that guides the governor of the Sakhalin Region, Valery Limarenko, when forming the budget policy.

More than 54% of the total spending of the island region is directed to the social sphere. At the initiative of Valery Limarenko, the most significant projects and programs for the residents of Sakhalin and the Kuriles receive funding in the first place.

With the advent of Limarenko, the list of support measures for the residents of the region has been significantly expanded. In 2020, the social security system built in the island region was recognized as the best in the country. Today, more than 240,000 people receive multidirectional assistance from the state and regional authorities, which is about half of the entire local population.

On behalf of Valeria Limarenko in 2022, over 74 billion rubles will be allocated for the implementation of social programs, of which 19.3 billion will go to social support for the population.

Also, the regional government has launched a number of programs for the older generation (this is also the idea of ​​Valery Limarenko). Among them are the Care 65+ and Sakhalin Longevity projects, which cover more than 100,000 people.

healthcare

In 2019, Valery Limarenko launched a health care reform, which managed to increase the salaries of doctors and attract more than a thousand specialists to the region (almost half of them are doctors). Limarenko also initiated the construction of a number of hospitals, clinics and FAPs: by 2025, it is planned to build 65 such facilities in the island region. They are erected both in the regional center and in remote areas.

Medical institutions of the region are equipped with modern equipment, advanced medical practices and technologies are being introduced. Planned budget spending on healthcare in 2022 will exceed 22.5 billion rubles.

Housing problem

Renovation of the housing stock of the Sakhalin Region is one of the key areas for the development of the region. Photo: PAXABAY.COM

Improving living conditions and improving the quality of life in the Sakhalin Region is another key area of ​​work for Valery Limarenko and the regional government.

The program of resettlement from dilapidated and dilapidated housing is being successfully implemented. In 2021 alone, four thousand people moved into new apartments. This year, more than 80 apartment buildings will be built in the region, which will improve the living conditions of more than five thousand islanders. The pace of the program implementation will increase by more than half: from 83,000 square meters in 2021 to 128,000 in 2022.

Over the next five years, about 30,000 residents of the region will receive keys to new apartments.

Freedom of movement

Transport accessibility issues are of key importance for the inhabitants of the island region. Back in 2019, Valery Limarenko removed some of the problems in this area. Regular air communication with the mainland was established, three routes of local airlines were launched. The volume of road construction has also increased significantly.

The regional government under the leadership of Valery Limarenko is working to ensure uninterrupted bus, rail, sea and air communication between the settlements of the island region. In 2022, more than 18 billion budget funds will be allocated for these purposes.

Infrastructure for the benefit of the environment

In 2020, at the initiative of the Governor, a program was launched to provide the Sakhalin Region with blue fuel. It is calculated until the end of 2025 and involves the construction of 54 new gas supply facilities, which will allow connecting 26,000 houses and 157 boiler houses in 75 settlements to the system. Pipeline or liquefied gas will come to all areas of the island region.

Large-scale work is underway to reconstruct heat supply, water supply and sanitation networks. The region is switching to energy efficient technologies.

All this will significantly reduce emissions into the atmosphere. According to the plan, by the beginning of 2026, the enterprises and infrastructure of the island region will have to achieve the highest possible indicators of carbon neutrality. By this time, it is planned to implement a unique project for the country to capture, store and use CO₂.

The program also involves the development of gas and electric transport, hydrogen energy, the implementation of an investment project for the construction of integrated facilities for the treatment of MSW.

By 2030, the Sakhalin Region will have to become one of the most environmentally friendly regions of the Russian Federation.

Business and investments

Valery Limarenko is working to improve the investment attractiveness of the Sakhalin Region. Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS

Valery Limarenko is working to increase the investment attractiveness of the Sakhalin Region. In the period from 2020 to 2022, the island region has significantly improved its performance, rising from 30th to 8th place in the National Investment Climate Ranking.

Active economic development is facilitated by a special preferential tax regime. Thus, investments in the Kuril Islands provide an opportunity for businesses to find their niche in the key markets of Asia in the areas of the fishing industry, new energy and tourism.

In the new economic situation, Valery Limarenko pays special attention to maintaining jobs, increasing regional budget revenues, and developing the oil and gas industry. Business is provided with:

• microloans at preferential rates through the Sakhalin Entrepreneurship Development Fund;
• surety for loan agreements;
• the possibility of restructuring loans.

In April 2022, Limarenko Valery announced the creation of more than 10,000 high-tech jobs as part of new investment projects. The region has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

food security

The Sakhalin Region under the leadership of Valery Limarenko managed to achieve a high level of independence from external supplies of products.

Thanks to the development of local industries, the island region fully meets the domestic needs for vegetables, potatoes, and eggs. Regional producers produce two-thirds of the milk and dairy products needed by the islanders. The demand for pork has been half closed, and poultry meat production will soon reach a similar indicator.

Reference:

Valery Igorevich Limarenko has been in charge of the Sakhalin Region since December 2018 (until September 2019 in the status of Acting Governor).

Previously, he worked in the government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region (Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities, Deputy Governor).

For 11 years, he held senior positions in Rosatom.

From 1983 to 1996 he worked at the Russian Federal Nuclear Center – VNIIEF (Sarov).