17 June 2004 21:41
Private investment needed in pipelines - Gref
MOSCOW. June 17 (Interfax) - The government should decide in the near future to allow private investment in pipeline
transport, Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said at a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.
"If we do not reach a decision this year, we will encounter a slowdown in oil production growth and problems
with exports of crude, which are currently the main source of economic growth," the minister said.
"Either we will lose colossal money on irrational expenditure, and our business will become uncompetitive, or we
will implement a sensible program to resolve these problems," Gref said.
He said that the government needs to reach a number of decisions to develop private business - state partnerships.
"The state is on the threshold of active measures to resolve problems that business alone is unable to solve in any
country," he said.
Primarily this involves the infrastructure of the economy. "Targets should be set for these tasks, budget
instruments created and each minister should carry responsibility for his section, so that after a certain period of
time we will be able to give an account of the use [of these growth factors]," Gref said. [RU EUROPE ASIA EEU EMRG
ENR CRU OIL TRD] rd <>
[Interfax] |
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