Translated material
Under the security stamp
The government discussed spending on air navigation and nuclear energy
The Russian air navigation system requires immediate modernization. According to the head of the relevant federal service, Alexander Neradko, this does not require any extra costs: the concept for the development of air navigation until 2025, which was discussed by the Russian government yesterday, provides for total expenses of 156 billion rubles. Which is not much for 20 years, especially when compared with the cost of an airline passenger’s life. Moreover, Rosaeronavigatsia is going to look for this money not in the budget, but in the tariff (that is, as usual, in addition to taxes, citizens will also pay for an increase in special fees). From November 1 of this year (this decision has already been made), the air navigation tax in the ticket price for domestic flights will be increased by 1.9 times. According to Mr. Neradko, this will have a minimal impact on the cost of the ticket - the increase will be a maximum of 60-70 rubles. (the head of the service did not specify whether it was a hundred kilometers away or at all). For foreign carriers, tariffs are planned to increase from January 1, 2007. How much is still unknown, as negotiations are ongoing. Mr. Neradko only noted that tariffs in the Russian Federation are the cheapest. For a Boeing 757 they are $87 per 100 kilometers. While in Ukraine and Belarus it is 143 dollars.The cabinet members did not particularly try to delve into the air navigation topic. Only the head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, German Gref, proposed that the government separately consider and fix “an excellent source of funds” - payments from foreign companies for the use of Trans-Siberian routes. According to the minister, the annual volume of these payments reaches 300 million euros. However, Mr. Neradko was able to “account” for only 45 million, and even then in an unknown currency.
The head of Rosaeronavigatsiya said that this year his agency “will receive 45 million conventional units, 25 million of which will be allocated to modernize the command and control center at Vnukovo airport, 19 million to modernize the Moscow automated air traffic control center and 27 million rub. to the Moscow State Technical University for the training of dispatcher specialists.”
Prime Minister Fradkov, interrupting the discussion on this matter, instructed the interested ministries and departments to understand the situation. Meanwhile, according to the current procedure, all “flight payments” go to the accounts of Aeroflot, which then transfers most of them to the federal budget. The compensation itself for non-stop flights on the shortest route from Europe to Asia over Siberia, which are paid by Western airlines, is a unique financial mechanism in world civil aviation, inherited by Russia from the Soviet Union. “Flight money” is paid in addition to the generally accepted tariffs in aviation practice for air navigation support of aircraft. Foreign air carriers have been unsuccessfully seeking the abolition of this order for many years now.
Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev also fought to accelerate the liberalization of flights over Russia. He reproached Mr. Neradko for the fact that the concept provides for a notification (today there is a permitting) procedure for the use of airspace only since 2008, but should begin in 2007. And he demanded to speed up the process. The prime minister supported the “acceleration”: “We will rethink the deadlines.” But he cautioned: “An optimal balance must be struck between commercialization and safety concerns.”
The topic of safety also became the main one during the discussion of the nuclear energy development program, which was presented by the head of Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko. Although the latter managed to prove the need to increase the power of nuclear energy with five marks. Just one example he gave plunged the ministers into deep thought. Mr. Kiriyenko said that there are two ways: develop and close. And so, they say, Germany is considering curtailing its nuclear programs. But the share of nuclear energy in the energy balance of Germany is 32%. In Russia - 16%.
Mr. Kiriyenko even managed to convince everyone that the costs of nuclear waste disposal were taken into account by his department and would not lead to an increase in the cost of electricity generated by nuclear power plants. In general, if not full competitiveness with gas, then at least sufficient. For 650 billion budget rubles by 2015, Mr. Kiriyenko promises to commission ten nuclear units and reduce production costs by 0.5 times. And even reduce the tariff by 10%.
The Prime Minister appreciated the ambitions of the head of Rosatom, but noted that in addition to enthusiasm, organizational and machine-building capabilities are needed. “Here are the directors of factories sitting and their knees should start shaking, how will you cope with all this?!” - Mr. Fradkov nodded towards the audience. “You are offering a single management company. This is good, of course. But so that monopolies do not turn into another monopoly,” he emphasized. The desire of the head of Rosatom to double GDP in a single industry (instead of building three blocks in 15 years - to reach two blocks per year) was supported by everyone. The Minister of Finance too. But here, too, he made a reservation: “We still have concerns because of the tight deadlines.”