Budget billions reach utilities: Tatarstan to spend about 9bn on networks
The head of the Ministry of Construction told where they will spend 9 billion rubles, when they build a water pipeline to Kuyuki, and refrained from talking about the future of alternative boiler house
The year 2024 promises to be the year of record investments in the modernisation of public utilities, sewage treatment plants and water intakes of the republic. Tatarstan participates in the federal programme for the modernisation of municipal infrastructure for the second year in a row with a total cost of 4.7 billion rubles, plus it implements four own programmes worth 1.8 billion rubles, and also attracted federal infrastructure loans worth 1.98 billion rubles, head of the Ministry of Construction of Tatarstan Marat Aizatullin revealed the “secrets” of the rescue. But this is not enough. For example, Tatenergo is lobbying for the transition to the principle of an “alternative boiler house”, which will lead to a multiple increase in the tariff for heat. Read the details in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
Minnikhanov will be responsible for the “infrastructure for life”
Tatarstan housing and utilities sector, which suffered especially due to high depreciation of heat supply, water supply and wastewater disposal networks, is moving into the category of exemplary. This year, 87.3 kilometres of utility networks are planned to be renewed in the republic, which is three times more than usual. The “grid” modernisation is going to “swallow” 2.8 billion rubles on this segment of the path, which have been allocated under the federal programme for major repairs of engineering networks for 2023-2024, head of the Ministry of Construction of the Republic of Tatarstan Marat Aizatullin announced at a briefing on 23 July. Without being included in this programme, Tatarstan would not have been able to dream of records in updating utility networks, he made it clear.
Recently, it became known that Russia's President Vladimir Putin appointed the rais of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, as the head of the commission of the State Council of the Russian Federation in the direction of Infrastructure For Life, created on the basis of the former commission of the State Council, Urban Environment. Thus, the country's leadership supports the course of modernisation of the municipal complex, on which the comfortable life of Russians depends.
Let us remind that on behalf of the head of state, the government is working on the creation of a comprehensive programme for the modernisation of utilities sector until 2030. It is planned that it will combine all the implemented and planned mechanisms, as well as extra-budgetary sources. But the first results are obvious in Tatarstan.
Kazan received a limit of 2.5 billion rubles
“The condition of public utilities remains one of the main problems of utilities services. Today, it is being solved with the participation of federal and republican programmes," Marat Aizatullin said and proceeded to a detailed description of the entire “necklace” of state programmes, which for some reason have not been particularly advertised in the press so far. It turned out that money for the repair of the republic's utility networks flows like a river, and other production facilities — sewage treatment plants, water intakes — are not bypassed.
The largest in this sense is the federal programme for the modernisation of municipal infrastructure, funded by the Territorial Development Fund of the Russian Federation, the republican budget and the companies themselves-suppliers of municipal resources.
“Now the programme has been approved for two years — 2023-2024. It provides for the implementation of 67 measures," said the head of the Ministry of Construction of the Republic of Tatarstan.
This will provide comfortable living for 1 million residents of the region.
The largest in this sense is the federal programme for the modernisation of municipal infrastructure, funded by the Territorial Development Fund of the Russian Federation, the republican budget and the companies themselves-suppliers of municipal resources.
"124 km of networks are to be replaced in 2 years. 37 kilometres were renewed last year, 87 kilometres — this year. I think there will be no disruptions. This year, the last facilities will be “completed” by Vodokanal of Kazan," said Marat Aizatullin.
It is planned to repair 12.8 kilometres of heat supply networks and 18.8 kilometres of water supply networks directly in Kazan.
The main participants are utilities providers Tatenergo, Kazenergo, and Vodokanal. Thus, Tatenergo defended a programme for the reconstruction of heating grid facilities with a total length of 16 kilometres and a cost of 3.9 billion rubles, and Kazenergo — 40 kilometres for 400 million rubles (20 kilometres of pipes a year). The basic cost-sharing scheme is fifty-fifty, but Tatenergo had to give more than the norm.
“Why not fifty-fifty? They had to add own funds. It's okay, depreciation was diverted to repair networks, their own funds were reported," said the technical director of Tatenergo.
The energy company mainly focused on repairing networks in the city centre, as well as in the surrounding areas. According to representatives of the companies, in two years they have reached the rate of network renewal of 2-3%.
When water will finally reach Kuyuki
“There is no secret: the most painful area is Kuyuki, this is the Pestrechinsky district, where there are breakdowns of water supply," admitted the head of the Ministry of Construction of the Republic of Tatarstan, answering journalists' questions. According to him, they are going to solve this problem in 2025-2027, when the federal authorities will launch a new programme of federal infrastructure loans.
“Now, together with Vodokanal, we are working on laying a water pipeline from a water pressure node in Azino, we sketched the project for ourselves," the speaker outlined an approximate scheme. “In 2025-2027, the programme on infrastructure budget loans starts. With a positive combination of circumstances, one of the priorities will be the construction of a water pipeline to Kuyuki and to close the issue of providing water to the village of Gildeevo.
But will there be thte programme in 2025? The head of the Ministry of Construction is optimistic. “Now it is being formed, we cannot say what limits will be determined for the region, but we are preparing," Marat Aizatullin said. According to him, design and estimate documentation is currently being developed with Tatenergo, Kazenergo, Vodokanal of Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny.
However, the minister did not stop reminding that there are four republican programmes in the republic with a total cost of 1.8 billion rubles. The level of performance is 46%. But still, federal resources remain the driver of the modernisation of Tatarstan utilities services, although the head of the Ministry of Construction himself preferred not to pedal this point. But it was clear from the presentation that infrastructure projects are in the active stage. For example, the construction of a water pipeline from a pumping station for the residential neighborhood M14 in Berezovaya Roscha of the Privolzhsky district of Kazan is being completed, and the construction of a water supply system in the Stolbische microdistrict, where Ak Bars Stroy operates, is at the finish line.
Tatenergo asks to “add fire”
Despite the financial downpour, resource companies do not have enough money. Tatenergo is lobbying for the transition to the principle of an “alternative boiler house”, which will lead to a multiple increase in the tariff for heat. The company sent the proposal to the Ministry of Construction of the Republic of Tatarstan to increase the tariff (plus the inflation rate in the range of 1-3%) and extend it for 20 years.
“Miracles do not happen, no matter how much money you attract, the communal infrastructure remains a problem area anyway. Alternative boiler house is just a tool that allows you to attract additional funds," said Rim Galiakhmetov, the deputy director general for strategic development of Tatenergo.
According to him, the authorities have “a lot of variability”, you can put a plus of one percent to inflation, you can have two, you can have three. “Many regions have switched to this method. This is a plus for the burden on residents, but it is good for all of us, because the renewal of networks will grow," said the deputy general director of Tatenergo.
“We have studied these calculations, we are working on the issue. We are studying the experience of other regions. It is too early to say our opinion here, we will announce our position in the near future," Marat Aizatullin assured journalists.
But the energy companies are confident that the transition to alternative boiler house should not cancel the programme of modernisation of municipal infrastructure, the provision of state support. “Without state support, just any method, whether it is tariff regulation or the alternative boiler house method, will not solve the problem," Galiakhmetov is sure.
“I think in two weeks, when the legal procedures are completed, he will come under our jurisdiction”
It immediately became known about the fate of the Chistopol Vodokanal, which is undergoing a change of ownership procedure and cannot participate in federal programmes. As expected, Chistopol-Vodokanal will be transferred under the management of Tatkommunenergo. “It has been decided that we will take away the water utility, it will become a branch of Tatkommunenergo, this is our subordinate institution, where more than 20 water utilities are now located," Marat Aizatullin said.
“I think in two weeks, when the legal procedures are completed, it will come under our jurisdiction. You understand that there are networks of the 1950s, we need to study everything, we will determine the most acute problems now, we will try to carry out minimal repairs before the heating period, and in the future we will be able to participate in federal programmes," concluded the head of the Ministry of Construction.