March 10, 2010 | The Moscow Times

Among the possibilities for the Center for Research and Development, as it will be called, are Tomsk, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, Obninsk, Dubna and an area near the business school along Novorizhskoye Shosse and Leningradskoye Shosse, presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said yesterday.

Rusnano head Anatoly Chubais will be charged with developing the project, and the president will likely announce the details of the project when he meets with Chubais on March 22, Dvorkovich said.

The president will consider several criteria in making the choice: infrastructure development, size of the territory, proximity to educational centers and attractiveness for business, Dvorkovich told Vedomosti. That the land belongs to the federal government would simplify the process, but it is not a decisive criterion.

The development of a business plan and the issue of financing will be worked out by a managing company that the president has ordered to be created, Dvorkovich added.

The federal budget is ready to spend money on developing nonprofit projects and scientific infrastructure. The other facilities, including social facilities, will be built using co-financing. "Construction may start next year, but probably only in the second half," he said.

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