Rustam Minnikhanov: Tatarstan is one of the most water-rich regions in the Volga Federal District

On 23 September, opening the XXVIII session of the Basin Council of the Lower Volga Basin district, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said:” The issue of water is one of the priorities for the future. It is a strategically important resource both for water supply, as energy source and transport for operation of various branches of economy. Tatarstan is one of the most water-rich regions in the Volga Federal District: 6.4% of our territory is covered with water and we have 36 thousand water bodies. It is the wealth we must definitely take care of and preserve”.

The main topics of the session held with participation of representatives from Volgograd and Astrakhan regions were federal projects of Preservation of Unique Water Bodies and Recovery of the Volga, which are being implemented by the Ecology national project.

Speaking at the session Rustam Minnikhanov said that Tatarstan is one of the most industrially developed regions of Russia.  Last year it produced 37m tonnes of oil and refined 22 m tonnes, the amount of industrial output exceeded  4 trillion robles and that of investments – 680bn roubles. “We continue implementation of large industrial projects and this raises the importance of water bodies’ recovery”, he concluded.

Regional Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Aleksandr Shadrikov stressed that Tatarstan together with other entities located along the Volga takes active part in implementation of the priority project of the Volga Recovery the main objective of which is to improve ecological state of the main water artery of the country by cutting the amount of effluent discharge for more than three times by 2025. The total volume of financing of this project  in Tatarstan will make about 18bn roubles, including 13 bn coming from the federal budget, he said

Shadrikov also reminded about the regional programme of modernization of biological wastewater treatment facilities and capital overhaul of the water disposal system being implemented in the republic.