On the margins of the VIII Eastern Economic Forum, which takes place from 10 to 13 September in Vladivostok, the Mayor of Magadan Yuri Grishan in an exclusive interview with TV BRICS spoke about the development of tourism in the region.

Magadan not only mines gold, but also actively develops tourism and social sphere. Tell us how these processes are going on?

The Magadan master plan, the development of which began in 2019, was preceded by large-scale studies. They showed that the social sphere should be given due attention, it should meet all modern criteria, so that people do not seek medical help in other subjects, children study in educational institutions, and the sports base meets modern requirements.

The project has been underway for three years. The Presidential Sports Complex has already been built, which has five swimming pools, new hockey arenas, and modern halls for boxing, volleyball, and basketball.

We are also very seriously addressing the issue of school construction. 28 per cent of children study in the second shift. We have completed one school under the master-plan in the village of Snezhny and are building two more new schools. Even these three projects will significantly reduce the load on schools, and children will study in the first shift, which is very important, because in the second shift they should mainly receive additional education. And new modern sports schools are being built for this purpose.

As part of the master-plan, we are building two facilities – an all-season ski jumping complex and the Elena Vyalbe Ski and Sports Stadium. So I think that in two or three years Magadan will be unrecognisable.

Such tasks were confirmed at the meeting on the implementation of the Far Eastern Cities Development Programme, which was held by Vladimir Putin. The development strategy of the three agglomerations (master plans for the development of the Anadyr, Magadan and Yakutia agglomerations) is unchanged, and we must fulfil the instruction given by the president: to develop this year a comprehensive development plan for Magadan until 2030 and submit it to the government of the Russian Federation.

The Eastern Economic Forum helps to find tools to solve similar problems, taking into account the experience of other subjects.

If we talk about tourism, what image does your city seek to form not only at the federal, but also at the international level, taking into account that it is a sister city of Chinese cities?

The city is small with a well-designed street and road network. But in order to form an image, we need to fulfil the instructions given by the President. The street and road network should be brought to a normal condition, yards and facades of houses should be repaired, new hotels should be built. We must modernise public transport.

Now there is a very intensive flow of tourists, but Kamchatka, as well as Sakhalin, cannot accept all of them. That is why we are now doing everything to balance the situation. We would like people to leave Magadan with positive emotions, to tell their friends about the city and to want to visit it again. The Far East is attractive for tourism. We have a huge country, and there are many unique objects in each region. We need to travel more around Russia and thanks to Far Eastern subsidies for rail and air transport, tourism is becoming more accessible.

Photo: flickr.com