Instead, in April, Sergei Sobyanin appointed an economist, former Deputy Prime Minister for Economics Vladimir Efimov, as the head of the construction complex for the first time, not a builder. And here is a new appointment: the post of head of the urban planning policy department was taken by Vladislav Ovchinsky, a graduate of the Faculty of Economics of the Russian State Humanitarian University. Ovchinsky has been working in the Moscow government since 2009. Having risen from a simple specialist in Moskontrol, in 2018 he became the head of the State Real Estate Inspectorate in Moscow. In 2022, the mayor appointed Ovchinsky as the head of the investment and industrial policy department. Vladimir Efimov, who then represented him in his new position, recommended Ovchinsky as an effective leader. I realized that his ability to use modern technologies and artificial intelligence (it was during the construction of Ovchinsky squatters on the streets of Moscow that real estate inspectors began to identify with the help of a robotic dog) will also be useful in his new position, where he will have to deal with issues of import substitution.
Economists occupy the top roles in the industry
In 2023, Moscow’s industry demonstrated record growth in almost all areas, and this will continue this year. And, apparently, the economy is becoming more important at Moscow construction sites.
Let me remind you that the Department of Urban Development Policy coordinates one of the most important programs in Moscow – housing renovation, within the framework of which 5,172 outdated houses should be demolished in 15 years and about a million Muscovites should be relocated to new apartments. Moreover, it is completely free for the citizens themselves, which, of course, requires considerable expenditures from the Moscow budget. It oversees this department and the Housing program, which covers major repairs and reconstruction of the housing stock, as well as its management and operation.
Anatoly Garbuzov, who worked as Ovchinsky’s deputy, was appointed Minister of the Moscow Government and head of the Moscow Department of Investment and Industrial Policy. There is still no information about Sergei Levkin’s new appointment; it is only known that he, on his own initiative, resigned from the Moscow city civil service.
