From stagnation to activity

Russian Aviation News & Information Server Avia.ru, September 16, 2008

N. B. Vasiliev, General Director, Progresstech Ltd.

 In the last years the state has, generally because of the rise in oil price, obtained some money for capital investment in the airport sphere. The investments were started but it caused a number of problems. Firstly, an orderly Soviet system of preparation of personnel in the sphere of transport construction collapsed and that naturally led to acute shortage of qualified specialists not only in state bodies that support functioning and updating of the transport complex, but in planning and constructing organizations, operational services and services of a customer.
Secondly, the quality of a design documents working has decreased and the engineering solutions used there were a reason for an ironic smile. Very often a construction of objects was conducted without a proper quality and with serious derangements of accepted standards and rules.
Thirdly, in these new conditions the system of government purchases and execution of orders organization because of its obvious imperfection began to work badly and that fact helped to grow corruption prosperity and dissipation of budgetary funds. As experts say that nowadays one third of these resources get lost or become a part of some officials’ private means.
It is highly important to immediately initiate forming of the modern regulatory system, reforming of the project expertise system and personnel training. If no urgent measures are taken, in the foreseeable future we will not have people to design or construct airport ground infrastructure, to sustain it in a proper condition. We cannot allow this to happen! Russia should not be left “off the road” of technological progress and miss its chance to be successfully integrated into world transport system.