Alexander Khloponin defines strategy of NCFD development

Progress in power engineering, tourist-recreational, agro-industrial and innovative-educational sectors will make the basic strategy of development of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD). This was stated today by Alexander Khloponin, Plenipotentiary in the NCFD, at the sitting of the government of North Ossetia.

"We have a huge potential in hydropower industry of Northern Caucasus. It should be stated that by the scale and hydropower potentials the NCFD is just a little inferior than the Siberian Federal District," the Plenipotentiary has noted.

According to his version, the point is in developing minor generation facilities - cascade power plants on rivers, can make the region the richest in power. Mr Khloponin also suggested making use of the quality of these new power generation facilities, renewable energy facilities; according to his version, such projects exist.

The second very important sector for Northern Caucasus, in Khloponin's opinion, is the tourist-recreational one. Here, the potential of the NCFD republics is incomparable with any other territory of the Russian Federation, as the Plenipotentiary has emphasized. He praised the project of the "Mamison" mountain ski resort built in the Alagir District of North Ossetia.

His third direction has to do with development of the agro-industrial sector of Northern Caucasus. "Unfortunately, today, once you live in the territory of the Russian Federation, you'll hardly see anything else but Ossetian vodka and Dagestanian cognac. Here, three key problems should be addressed: to help the people who grow products to harvest them; help them to process and store the crops; and organize the sales. Here, the state should provide resources to create a network," Mr Khloponin has noted.

The fourth sector in the focus of the Plenipotentiary is the innovative-educational one. He has noted that the last decades saw the loss of the huge educational potential, which had existed in the republics of Northern Caucasus, in particular.

Alexander Khloponin has especially emphasized that education should be reconstructed and adapted for those tasks and needs that exist today. In this context, a decision was made to found the NCFD University. Its location is not defined yet, he has noted.