ST. PETERSBURG, INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC CENTRE

By the estimate of the Committee for Economic Development, Industrial Policy and Trade economy in St. Petersburg has been growing steadily for eight consecutive years. The city places stake on large-scale strategic projects that can improve the city standards dramatically. Industry is the leader in foreign capital raising. As of the year 2007 70% of the total foreign investments, nearly 25% of the GRP, 20% of the employed population (which is 414 thousand people), about 27% of tax revenues to the state system and 65% of the total city income account for this field. Industrial establishments are the basic source of income for St. Petersburg budget providing for more than one third of tax revenues. In 2007 the index of production amounted to 110,0% and to 110,3% in the processing fields of economy. The index also reached 130,6% in metallurgy and final metal products and 120,8% in automobile and equipment production comparing to 2006 and grew in 1,8 times in producing other non-metal products.

More than 700 large and medium enterprises are the ground for the capital of the North industry, and part of those is among the largest Russian enterprises. Furthermore, approximately 12 thousand small enterprises manufacture industrial products in the city. The dominant fields in the set industrial structure are mechanical engineering including power engineering industry, metal working, metallurgy and shipbuilding and also automobile industry joined to the dominant fields lately (there are 6 car assembly plants of the world leading brands in St. Petersburg). The share of the city in producing some other types of products on production and technical purposes is also significant, these products include compressors, pumps, vacuum engineering devices, fittings, bearings, equipment and technologies for manufacturing, processing and use of plastics and rubber.

St. Petersburg has had the image of "the city of high technologies" since the moment it was founded. At present the city has one of the largest Russian scientific and technical-scientific potentials. 11% of the Russian scientific potential, 14% of Russian researchers and 8% of Russian students are focused in St. Petersburg. The sphere of science and innovative actions of the city on Neva is represented by 453 scientific organizations including 48 scientific organizations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 327 field scientific organizations, more than 130 higher educational establishments and 13 innovative and technological centres and technology parks.

The development of new products, materials and technologies including information technologies is vitally important for improvement of St. Petersburg industrial centre competitiveness at international markets. Thus among the main directions of city government industrial policies are promotion of industrial innovative and technological development, creation and development of innovative territories and, first of all, of the residents of a special economic area of technical introduction type (Noyidorf and Orlovskyiy) where such leaders of hi-tech production as ZAO Tranzas, Project Institution, Gazproekt, NPO Laser Systems and others will be concentrated.

On the 13th of November, 2007, an event plan on small business development and promotion in St. Petersburg from 2008 till 2011 was worked out by the city government. "The plan provides for three higher priority scenarios of small business development in St. Petersburg: industrial-innovative, social-innovative and transitional ones", mentioned Dmitry Bykov, Assistant Chairman of the Committee for Economic Development, Industrial Policy and Trade of the Administration of St. Petersburg (KERPPiT). According to him, the industrial-innovative way provides for small entrepreneurship development in processing fields (of the chemical industry, metallurgy, construction materials, mechanical engineering, electric engineering and instrument engineering) and also in the field of science and innovative technologies. The social-innovative scenario presupposes development of entrepreneurship in construction, cultural spheres, public health service, education, social, domestic and public services and tourism. "The transitional way is the development of small business in the fields of transport, communication and wholesale commerce", said Bykov.

The official announcement of celebrating in 2009 the centenary of the first Russian exhibition of latest inventions, which took place in 1909 in Michailovskiy manezh in St. Petersburg, is also the sign of special attention that the government pays to hi-tech development. Since 1999 according to the order of the Governor o St. Petersburg ? 1328-r d.d. December 29th, 1999, High Technologies. Innovations. Investments exhibition-congress is held annually.
The XV International exhibition-congress High Technologies. Innovations. Investments (Industrial Innovations), which will take place from 10th to 13th of March, 2009, at VK Lenexpo within the limits of St. Petersburg Technical Fair, is dedicated to the anniversary of the exhibition.

By the claim of Sergey Fiveyskiy, Assistant Chief of KERPPiT, the main goal of the city government for the next years in the field of industrial policy will be the development of economic conditions providing for achieving and preserving industrial growth stable dynamics. It is planned to approve in summer 2009 The Field (cluster) scheme of development and specialization of St. Petersburg industrial areas, worked out by KERPPiT and KGA. Authorities will make decisions on practicability of placing enterprises in one or another city industrial area on the ground of this document. During the process of territory specialization development their main and reserve (additional) function and also possible places for engineering infrastructure development will be pointed out.

The industrial areas specialization scheme will concern those which have at present spare territories. Basically these are 28 large territories mostfully situated in the city suburbs. Such scheme will allow to the St. Petersburg government to implement the cluster approach in an effective way while locating enterprises of similar fields and functionals in one or vicinal industrial areas.

Today the cluster approach is the optimal way for competitive development of the cluster itself, which means companies and institutions in its structure, as well as of the city (region) where this cluster is located. At present automobile industry enterprises are already located in industrial areas Shushary-2 and Kamenka, Predporovaya-3 area is planned to be given to IT-cluster participants, Konnaya lahta - to the mechanical engineering and Pushkinskaya – to the chemical-pharmaceutical and medical industry.

It is predicted that the St. Petersburg economic growth power unit up to 2011 will be such fields as industry, construction, science, communication and different services delivery.

In view of such events the annually held St. Petersburg Technical Fair, which unifies specialists of mechanical engineering, metallurgy and automobile fields from Russia, CIS countries, Europe and Asia, is an important part of the St. Petersburg and North-West regional industrial development process. The International exhibition-congress High Technologies. Innovations. Investments (Industrial Innovations), which is held on the same ground with the Fair, has as its goal the promotion of high technologies, innovations and investment projects in the scientific and technical sphere and the maintenance of effective cooperation of North-West scientific organizations and enterprises with the industry and potential investors.