7 June 2019, St. Petersburg.  — The Far East High Technology Fund (FEHTF) signed an agreement with the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) on the joint implementation of the integrated programme Smart City in Yakutia. 

The agreement was signed during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum by CEO of the FEHTF Ruslan Sarkisov and Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Vladimir Solodov.

Yakutsk will be the pilot city within the joint project.

According to preliminary arrangements, the FEHTF will provide funds for implementation of the Smart City system in Yakutsk, as well as state-of-the-art digital and engineering solutions for the project by attracting leading experts and specialized technology companies, both national and international.

At the first stage, the Fund, together with the leadership of the Republic, will conduct an audit of the current IT penetration in the Republic and Yakutsk, followed by determining the key needs and target indicators necessary to achieve the desired level of development in the territories.

“The penetration of advanced technologies in Russia’s Far East is one of the key challenges to be progressively addressed by the Fund for increasing the investment attractiveness of the region and ensuring a comfortable expansion of technological projects in the local market. The Smart City program, in our opinion, will serve as a driver of expansion and will create a multiplicative effect for the digital ecosystem in the region,” said CEO of the FEHTF Ruslan Sarkisov. The Smart City program in Yakutsk will include the integration of more than 100 different services and technologies into a single solution: the system will combine energy-efficient technologies, the city’s digital infrastructure, security systems, online monitoring of utilities and telecommunications infrastructure. The project also anticipates the launching of a city platform, where any resident of Yakutsk will be able to discuss the city development issues.