“The reason is obvious. You all see the traffic problems Moscow faces,” Sobyanin said at the Troika Dialog/Sberbank Russia Forum 2012 on Friday.

“State investments into subway construction, road reconstruction and parking lots will exceed USD 50bn over the next five years”, said the Mayor.

He said that 2011 saw the greatest federal estate privatization program in recent years.

“We managed to increase the budget and cut our debt, boost the city budget by several billion dollars,” Sobyanin said.

“We further plan to get rid of the excessive state-owned property which at times is only pure loss,” he added.

He also noticed that the Russian capital has generally overcome the negative consequences of the 2008-2009 economic slowdown.

“According to the 2011 results, economic growth is 4 per cent. Today the unemployment rate is very low in Moscow. In accordance with the ILO standards, it is only about one per cent”, the Mayor said.

In his words, for the very first time in the recent years the city saw investment growth.

Welcoming the Forum guests, Sobyanin reminded that today “true Russian winter reigns over the city. Anyway, it doesn’t affect the active business and social life of the capital,” emphasized the city head.

Answering a question on which industries in Moscow are in dire need of investment, Sobyanin explained: “I believe the Moscow market is structured in a way that it can absorb any amount of investments”.

“Moscow is widely believed to be excessively invested in and overcrowded with construction sites. It is partly that way, especially in the centre. However, the research we have conducted shows that Moscow seriously lacks shopping space”, the Mayor said.

In his opinion, the capital of Russia is almost twice behind other European cities in this aspect.

Sobyanin added that the city suffers from a shortage of hotels, and called for more investment into healthcare, education and sports infrastructure.

Project Group №5, Sergei Sobyanin