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Expansion of Moscow borders to help it develop harmonically: mayor

According to the mayor, starting from Sunday July 1 the number of Muscovites has increased by 230,000

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, July 1 (Itar-Tass) — The adding of new territories to Moscow will help the mega-city with the population of 20 million people to develop harmonically, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said at a conference on Sunday discussing Moscow government’s activity on new territories.

According to the mayor, starting from Sunday July 1 “the number of Muscovites has increased by 230,000. This is two percent of the current population of the capital or a 1.5-year natural population increase”.

Sobyanin said that the territory of Moscow has increased by 150,000 hectares. “These are vast territories for Moscow, and 3.3 percent - for the Moscow region,” he said.

According to Sobyanin, the decision to expand the capital’s borders will be advantageous both for Moscow and the Moscow region. “This will help the whole 20-million mega-city to develop harmonically,” he is sure.

The mayor noted that the previous model of Moscow’s development, when offices were built in the centre, and millions of square meters of housing around the centre, has run out of stream. “We cannot pursue this course any longer, whether we want that or not,” he stressed. The expansion of Moscow will make it possible to create new labor opportunities, new centers, new points of attraction.

In particular, scientific clusters will be set up in Troitsk and Skolkovo, and a financial centre will be built at the Rublyovo-Arkhangelskoye Highway, the Moscow mayor added.

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