The Irkutsk region is implementing 14 investment projects with China for 150 billion rubles. until 2029
Until 2029, the Irkutsk region plans to implement 14 investment projects with China with an investment volume of about 150 billion rubles. This was announced following the 18th meeting of the permanent Russian-Chinese working group on the development and use of forest resources, which was held on July 17–18 in Beijing.
The Russian delegation was headed by Oleg Bocharov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, and also included Alexander Panfilov, Deputy Head of Rosleskhoz, Roman Kolesov, First Deputy Governor of the Irkutsk Region, and Vladimir Chitorkin, Deputy Chairman of the Regional Government. On behalf of the PRC, the meetings were attended by Deputy Minister of Commerce of the country Ling Jing, representatives of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Heilongjiang and Hubei provinces, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The 18th meeting of the Standing Working Committee on the Development and Use of Forest Resources of China and Russia was chaired by Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Ling Jing. Among the main areas in which China is ready to work with the Russian Federation, the following were highlighted: strengthening the trade investment policy in the forest industry, supporting inter-regional cooperation, improving the business environment, deepening cooperation in the supply chain, accelerating green and carbon transformation, as well as actively responding to climate change, promoting the healthy and stable development of bilateral cooperation.
An updated report on the state of the timber industry in the Irkutsk region was published for the event.
- The forest complex of the region occupies a leading position in terms of timber harvesting: in 2022 it amounted to 28 million m3;
- There are 703 forestry and logging enterprises and 582 companies engaged in wood processing and pulp and paper production in the region;
- 32 thousand workers are employed in the forestry sector;
- The region produces 26% of Russian pulp;
- Following the results of five months of 2023, the volume of timber cargo shipped by rail amounted to 2 million tons.
Olga Kalyuzhnaya, President of the Russian Forest Association: “The industry growth drivers in the region are eight active priority investment projects in the field of forest development, in the implementation of which 123 billion rubles have already been invested. Within their framework, modern factories with the latest equipment for the production of a wide range of products intended for the domestic market and for export are being created.
