LOCAL

Europe’s biggest city is set to grow even more.

President Dmitry Medvedev has proposed expanding Moscow’s current boundaries into the region, and evicting officials from the city centre into the newly adopted suburbs.

Bigger could be better

Medvedev suggested expanding the borders and creating a new “metropolitan federal district” while speaking at the opening of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Friday.

“We may consider expanding Moscow’s borders in order to improve the development of the metropolitan area, for the needs of the [international] financial center and simply to make life easier for numerous people,” Medvedev said.

Russian authorities have long hoped to make Moscow an international financial center, but overloaded infrastructure has frustrated that dream.

Officials get on their bikes

With the expansion of Moscow, a considerable number of federal and administrative departments would be moved beyond the current borders of the Russian capital, the president added.

The idea is to move jobs away from the congested center and ease traffic problems associated with large employers.

Andrei Metelsky, a deputy speaker of the Moscow parliament, told RIA Novosti it is too early to say which administrative departments would be moved and which would remain.

Moving will solve traffic problems- Sobyanin

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin is positive that creating a new satellite city with official buildings will solve Moscow’s traffic problems.

“Moving a large number of official organizations from Moscow city centre will be a very positive factor for Moscow and Muscovites, it will lead to a more harmonious development of the city,” Sobyanin told journalists.

“Today two thirds of jobs are in the city center, and the transport collapse that we see is mostly due to heightened concentration in the center,” he said.

The Mayor promised that he will cooperate with Moscow region governor Boris Gromov on solving the traffic problems and will present their findings to the president.

Moscow officials like the idea

Moscow officials praised President Dmitry Medvedev’s proposal.

Alexander Semennikov, the chairman of Moscow parliament’s legislative commission, said the relocation of administrative departments from downtown Moscow would significantly help ease traffic problems.

“There is a large number of various departments and their offices in the city. Some of them will be reformed, some closed. But the removal of such departments from Moscow would help relieve downtown,” he said.