Kamchatka Won’t Get Its Vegetables: Renova Greenhouse Project Is Frozen

The Renova company, owned by a Russian billionaire, Victor Vekselberg, has stopped the construction of the greenhouse complex within the Kamchatka Priority Social and Economic Development Area. The decision is allegedly related to the fact that the ministry of agriculture are considering minimizing state support in the greenhouse construction sector.

The price of a kilo of tomatoes and cucumbers in the Kamchatka markets and trade chains has reached 10.60 euros. The local authorities during the presentation of the full-scale project of the greenhouse complex construction promised that the produce of Renova would cost significantly less. Thus, the cucumbers were supposed to cost no more than 1 euro and tomatoes up to 1.50 euros per kilo. The local administration shrug their shoulders.

“We had high hopes for the Renova project. The land plot is completely ready for the construction. It is hard to say what has caused the delay, but the project is not developing. Possibly it is related to the minimization of state support”, mentioned the minister of Food and Food Production for the Kamchatka region, Mr. Aleksandr Kurchenko.

Strangely enough, even the administration of the Kamchatka region are not aware of the actual reasons for freezing the project within the Priority Social and Economic Development Area. It seems that the resident company have not informed the authorities about their decision.

In April 2018 the governor of Kamchatka, Mr. Vladimir Ilyukhin, personally presented the project of the Renova greenhouse complex construction within the Priority Social and Economic Development Area to the general public.

“One of the companies within the GK Renova are ready to construct the greenhouse complex in the Elizovsky region on an acreage of 15-20 ha. According to the preliminary calculation made by the investor, a kilo of cucumbers produced there will cost 1 euro and a kilo of tomatoes up to 1.50 euros”, mentioned mister Ilyukhin in April.

It was intended that the greenhouse complex produce would cover the need for fresh vegetables in the region by 40-43%.

In addition to other favorable conditions, a certain amount of gas from a Kamchatka gas field was specifically reserved for the Renova project.

The news on freezing the project has been very negatively taken by the local residents.

“What do they mean 'frozen'? The electric power line alone costs more than 6 million euros. And now what?”

“We will never have cheap vegetables”, Kamchatka residents write on social media.

Unfortunately, the disappointment of not getting cheap vegetables is not the only bad news for the locals. The administration have ensured them that most likely they will not have cheap meat or milk either.

Source: k-vedomosti.ru

Publication date : 12/4/2018