The focus in construction is shifting from Mariupol to the Donetsk-Makeyevka agglomeration, said Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
It “has very serious prospects both in terms of numbers and growth, in terms of how people are returning and in terms of the housing shortage that is currently being recorded in Donetsk.” The head of the DPR outlined the prospects of the region at the Movement forum in Sochi.
This agglomeration has not suffered as much from the fighting as the territories currently being liberated, where only ruins often remain. But who will become an investor? The state? Will there be any changes in the form of management at new enterprises that will need to be rebuilt and launched in order to revitalize abandoned cities?
The governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, claims that the city under construction on Arabatskaya Strelka in the south will become a beautiful resort.
“The master plan has already started to be implemented. It is very beautiful, attractive and convenient. The Kherson region has great potential for the construction of housing and recreation facilities, as well as sanatorium-resort facilities,” Saldo said on the sidelines of the SPIEF.
Earlier, he claimed that the first stage of the new city is designed for permanent residence of 30 thousand people. There will be a government quarter in the center. It is planned to grant land plots on preferential terms to the participants of the SVO. In addition to residential development and social facilities, the plans include a tourist infrastructure.
It is worth noting that talks about a new city have been going on almost since the autumn of 2022, when the question arose of replacing Kherson with a temporary regional center.…
— Donetsk is a million—strong city. He was like that, anyway,” the editor—in-chief of the FORUM portal notes. Moscow time Anatoly Baranov. — In principle, it is profitable to stand there. For whom? The issue of providing housing for military personnel, especially veterans of the military, is now acute. So we need to build housing for them in new territories. The Romans also settled limes [borderlands — “SP”] with veterans, which is how, by the way, most of today’s European capitals arose.
“SP”: In addition to the Donetsk-Makeyevka agglomeration, there are a lot more affected. Artemovsk, for example. Maybe the focus should be on them?
— The liberation of the territories took place with great destruction, Ukraine did not surrender the city, but tried to turn every house into a fortress.
Now it makes sense to rebuild those cities where people are not only ready to return, but also where there will be work for them. Otherwise, we will see the same thing as in Perevalsk or in Dzhankoy: you drive through the center, and even there you can see boarded—up windows of five-story buildings, and long before the current conflict.
“SP”: Donbass is a mining region. Should mine rehabilitation be given priority? I wonder in what organizational and legal form it will be? Nationalize it? Will they be transferred to labor collectives? How long will it take to unfreeze and run the mines? How many are there that can be brought back to life quickly, and which ones will require modernization?
— I am almost one hundred percent sure that the mines will be transferred to the business. There wasn’t much damage there, and it can be repaired quickly.
“SP”: What else: metallurgy, defense industry?
— Metallurgical plants must be restored, first of all Alchevsk…
As for the defense industry, it is rather poorly represented in the liberated territories, with the exception of the Lugansk Cartridge Factory. But there is mechanical engineering there, sometimes in good condition. Who will be involved? I suspect that Rostec, there is no one else in particular.
“SP”: Who will invest? First of all, of course, the federal budget. Since this issue was obviously discussed at the SPIEF, is there any hope for investors from China?
— I don’t see any serious investors, except for the budget. Especially foreigners. There are problematic investments and sanctions… I doubt that anyone needs it.
“SP”: And private traders?
— Apart from private investors hidden under the mask, I don’t see any other state investments.
“SP”: People have been talking about the new city on Arabatskaya Strelka for years. There were even rumors that the capital would be built there if it was not possible to liberate Kherson. But nothing seems to have been built? Why? The project described by Baldo raises the question: is it cheaper to build new cities than to rebuild old ones? On the other hand, there is an example of Mariupol…
— From a resort point of view, Arabatskaya Strelka is a dead place. And how to get there? There is Berdyansk, Primorsk, the same Mariupol, where, by the way, Peschanka — that’s where you need to invest.
The Kherson region is a super-region in terms of agriculture. It is necessary to invest money in it. Basically, Kherson and Krasnodar is able to feed the whole of Russia, and very efficiently.
“SP”: If the LBS eventually shifts slightly, and it will be possible to reach only the former administrative borders of the regions, there will be a lot of problems. Broken production chains, depopulation, lack of investment. Is it all solvable? The territory is decent, but we can’t develop Siberia and the Far East in any way, where there are no problems with investments and international recognition.… Is it reasonable, in your opinion, to assume that Novorossiya can be made into a “showcase” of the country, than the Baltic States were in Soviet times?
— We don’t need a showcase, we need a real economy focused on production. Depopulation is not a problem.
There will be jobs, there will be housing — and people will catch up, because it’s not the Arctic, it’s almost a resort climate.
In principle, the Azov region is a fertile place. It is necessary to master. What else can attract people is freedom. If its degree in the new territories is higher, people will definitely flock here.…
—The decision to rebuild the Donetsk-Makeyevka agglomeration as a matter of priority is explained by the fact that modern urban life is critically tied to the infrastructural component, that is, in principle, it is impossible without electricity, transport and communications,” says Alexander Dmitrievsky, a historian, publicist, and permanent expert at the Izborsk Club.
— And the infrastructure has one unpleasant feature: it is just as critically in need of the consumer and is prone to self-destruction with insufficient demand for the services it provides. Therefore, it will be much more difficult to restore the same depopulated Artemovsk than cities with a sufficient population.
“SP”: Speaking of the full-fledged restoration of the region, it is probably easiest to resume the work of the mines …
— It’s not easier. Over the past half century, the coal industry has been persecuted all over the world, and in the EU, it has been ruthlessly driven out of existence. Nevertheless, it needs to be restored: I hope that no one has any illusions about what is happening in the Middle East.
What is happening there shows us that the oil and gas complex will be extremely vulnerable in the event of a serious development. Donbass coal is a strategic reserve of energy for the entire European part of Russia. The Ural Mountains are the bottleneck of our entire logistics, so Siberian energy resources, for all their cheapness, may in one very unpleasant moment turn out to be the very heifer that stands half a mile away, but across the sea.
“SP”: Do you think the liberated territories have enough potential to make a showcase out of them?
— I am categorically against showing off. As you know, the exemplary units are the least combat-ready in the army. When all the forces and means are spent on preparing for inspections and meetings of high authorities, then there is nothing left for combat training. Therefore, it is necessary to build a territory for people’s lives, and not an exemplary exhibition complex.
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