ST. PETERSBURG CITY IS ON THE VERGE OF BANKRUPTCY

The government meeting that took place in Smolny at the end of July was devoted to the execution of the city budget for the first half of the year. During the meeting, the governor of the northern capital announced a surplus of 25 billion rubles and an increase in city revenues by 23%. However, according to other versions, the prospects of the city are not so rosy.

The city treasury was replenished by 338 billion rubles. According to Smolny's forecasts, the budget deficit in 2021 will amount to 89.6 billion rubles, but by 2023, the city authorities plan to reduce it to 39.9 billion.

Such an optimistic view of the development of the economy of St. Petersburg caused skepticism among numerous experts.

According to the gorodovoy.ru portal, the city has obligations in the amount of over 8 trillion rubles, which must be repaid by 2024. Considering that there are practically no investment projects in the city, it will be problematic to get the necessary funds.

According to experts, the government does not take into account the city's need for new kindergartens and clinics.

The city may need 224 billion rubles for their construction. More than 200 billion is needed for the development of the underground transport.

One of the most capital-intensive items is the funds allocated for the maintenance of the historical fund and the restoration of cultural sites. This will require 7.4 trillion rubles more. The budget deficit could reach 1.5 trillion rubles, significantly exceeding the data released at the meeting in Smolny.

In August 2021, FederalCity agency put St. Petersburg on the 7th line in the rating of the most heavily credited territories in Russia with a public debt of 85 billion rubles. If we add the systematic shortfall in tax revenues (in the first half of the year it exceeded 9 billion) to this, we will see that the economic forecasts look bleak.

Representatives of the St. Petersburg - City of Changes youth movement also published a negative scenario on the social network.

The budget deficit is only increasing, and the authorities do not give prospects for solving the problem.

The budget, as the activists say, fell from 670.5 billion to 652 billion rubles over the year. In such conditions, one should not hope that the governor will be able to increase it to 1 trillion rubles by 2025, as he publicly stated earlier.

According to ASDOR analysts, more than half of the road construction companies have recently been closed in the northern capital. Out of 300 companies with over a billion in revenues, 25 ended a financial year of 2020 at a loss. Construction materials have become very expensive, and it becomes almost impossible to compensate for additional costs in the face of a decrease in the cost of public procurement.