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Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank) jointly with the Mono-City Development Fund presented the top ten single-industry towns in Russia in 2017.

The rating was unveiled during the TASS press conference on Monday, 25 June 2018.

 The municipalities were graded within the framework of the priority programme “Integrated development of mono-towns”.

 At the year-end, all 319 single-industry towns were evaluated according to 16 indicators. The town of Zarechny located in the Penza region took the fourth place in this rating.

 The level of social and economic development, business opportunities in a town assessed by small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, and presence or absence of pressure on business were factored in the analysis. In addition, the towns were ranked on the basis of residents’ opinions on the activities of city administrations, level of interaction with regional and federal development institutions, quality of social welfare infrastructure, progress in programme indicators, etc.

 The rating helps to identify the strengths and prospects of leading mono-towns and define the most successful projects in order to improve the quality of life in these municipalities.

 It was noted that Zarechny population commended the economic situation in the town and the mayor’s work. They were satisfied with municipal support policy, procedures for small business to obtain rental areas, quality and accessibility of infrastructure.

 Moreover, the positive impact was secured through well-established interaction between the development institutions and small and medium-sized businesses.

The programme of integrated development of single-industry towns was launched in 2016. 25.3 billion roubles were allocated for its implementation in 2017 – 2020. These funds are distributed by the Mono-City Development Fund. It also has other sources of financing. The main objective of the programme is to eliminate the dependence of a single-industry town on one enterprise, create new jobs and improve the quality of urban environment. The budgets are given for upgrading infrastructure, small and medium business and improving education and health. Preferential loans are issued at 5% for up to 8 years to finance investment projects.