St. Petersburg Economic Development Project

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The St. Petersburg Economic Development Loan (SPB-EDL) for the Russian Federation will support the City in its efforts to accelerate the implementation of key elements of the Strategic Plan, which was designed to enhance the city's prospects for sustainable economic growth in the medium- and longer term, and allow it to more fully exploit its position as Russia's "Window to the West". To this end, SPB-EDL will contribute to: (a) improving the business climate in St. Petersburg by facilitating the creation of new private sector enterprises, increasing private ownership and transactions of land and real estate, and improving land use planning; (b) strengthening the City's financial management and ensuring the long-term stability of its fiscal revenue base; and (c) enabling St. Petersburg to preserve its unique position as one of Russia's top centers of culture and the arts through the rehabilitation of key cultural heritage and tourism assets. An additional indirect, yet strategically important goal pursued by the Bank through preparing SPB-EDL, is to develop and test a model of Bank operation in support of structural reform at sub-national level that, in the future, could be replicated elsewhere in Russia or other ECA countries. There are 2 main project components.