China plans $763 million real estate developments in Buryatia

Chinese company 'Sunrise Invest Holding' aims to invest 24 billion roubles into the ambitious project, it was announced. 

The overall amount of all signed deals signed during the International Economics Conference is expected to be over 60 billion roubles or $1.9 billion.

'Forty billion would go towards housing, about seven billion roubles will be invested into agricultural projects, and the rest would go towards developing a 

hotel complex in the city centre,' said the President of Buryatia Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn.  

The forum will also discuss a second railway on the Baikal Amur Railway, which could massively expand cargo transportation across Russia. 

Several thousand particiants were arriving for the forum, from US, the EU, China, India, CIS countries, as well as from elsewhere in Russia.

'There is no way to develop a new innovative economy without developing Siberia and the Far East, as it is 80% of Russian territory, and a natural reserves storage of the whole country,' stressed Nagovitsyn. 

'Baikal region is in desperate need of new approaches to  economic development, and is keen to discuss it', he added. 

Earlier Valentina Matvienko, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council, stressed how local people were the decisive factor in the future prosperity of their regions.

'Whether Siberia and the Far East become the real locomotives of innovative economy, or remain energy and resources suppliers, would only depend on local business, the authorities and public efforts,' she said.

The conference is organised by Russian Federation Council and the Government of Buryatia, with support from the Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Economic Development.

Locals in Ulan-Ude were urged not to use their cars. More than 500 police and security operatives are on duty for the event.