The Russian Government has approved an agreement with the World Bank on credit allocation for St. Petersburg.

The credit resources will be used to fulfill the top-priority cultural projects. The credit terms are extremely inviting for the city.

The loan is extended for 17 years starting from 2005 with a grace period of five years. The federal budget will be charged with use and redemption of $59.5 million, while the St. Petersburg Administration is responsible for repayments of the other sum.

The Board of Directors of the World Bank decided to allocate the credit on May 15, 2003. A part of the $61 million credit is to be spent for historical center restoration, and $100 million will serve as a budget-substituted loan.

St. Petersburg is about to reconstruct and restore historical objects of national value, including cultural institutions, like the Mariinsky Theater, the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the St. Petersburg Conservatory, the state museums Tzarskoye Selo (Pushkin) and Pavlovsk, as well as other eight federal objects of culture.

In the words of the Vice-Premier of St. Petersburg Mikhail Oseevsky, the co-operation experience between St. Petersburg and the World Bank over 1997-2002 has determined the choice to make the Northern capital a place to actualize the project.

The authorities of St. Petersburg hope the new loan will appear to incite business to take part in the project and to let small businesses grow.

News source: www.dp.ru
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