Moscow Creates: How the Capital's Industry Is Becoming a Driver of Technology, Jobs, and Growth

Moscow produces everything from bread and furniture to vaccines and space electronics. More than 4.5 thousand enterprises in the capital provide the city with quality goods. How production is developing in the metropolis, who can count on the city's support and why a modern factory is not about smoke and noise, but about intelligence and engineering, says Moscow Government Minister, Head of the Department of Investment and Industrial Policy Anatoly Garbuzov.

Anatoly Mikhailovich, what is industrial Moscow "breathing" with today? What do we produce that you can literally touch?

Today, there are more than 4.5 thousand industrial companies operating in the capital, and many of them produce products that end up on Muscovites’ tables, in their wardrobes, or in the interior of their homes, apartments, and offices every day.

There are about 320 food industry enterprises in Moscow alone, and each of them contributes to strengthening the country's food sovereignty. Moscow companies produce a variety of products: bread, dairy products, meat delicacies and confectionery. For example, the manufacturer "Khlebny Dom" is implementing a major modernization project this year with the support of the city. The company received a preferential investment loan of 4.5 billion rubles under the program of the Moscow Fund for Support of Industry and Entrepreneurship. These funds will be used to purchase modern lines for the production of baguettes, puff pastries, pizza and other products.

Light industry enterprises, pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, elevator construction and radio electronics industries are actively operating.

Recently you spoke about the growth of production of furniture and goods for summer residents. Do Muscovites themselves know that their chair or grill is made in the capital?

It is important for Muscovites to understand what exactly is being created next to them - this allows them to look at the city's economy differently. Industry provides more than 750 thousand jobs, which is every tenth person employed in the city. And not only in large enterprises, but also in compact production facilities. In addition, the awareness that the capital produces popular and modern things forms a culture of consumption and support for local producers.

What achievements are you especially proud of?

We are proud of everything: from food products to high technologies. For example, the capital's Smartkor company recently released a single-board industrial computer SM Pie. This solution is in demand in industry, education, and medicine. Pokkels has launched serial production of a new system for laser cleaning of products from rust - compact, powerful, and convenient. And the EP NPC-21 enterprise has opened a laboratory for MTI students, where they are taught how to work with industrial systems. This is an example of how science, education, and production are united.

What business support measures are in place in Moscow? Is it only for large players?

Support is not only for large factories. We have more than 20 types of support measures. These include preferential loans (up to 5 billion rubles at half the Central Bank's key rate), and land for 1 ruble per year for industrial investors. There is the status of an industrial complex with tax benefits. The measures are available to both large enterprises and those who are just starting to produce small batches. The main thing is to create a product that the city and the country need.

What about the staff? Who will work at these enterprises in 5-10 years?

Personnel policy is one of our priorities. There is a whole training system in Moscow: engineering classes, colleges, university internships. An intercollegiate training center with modern equipment has been opened in the Rudnevo industrial park. There is a project called Technostandirovka — students do their internships right at the enterprises in the Technopolis Moscow SEZ. And in Skolkovo, an innovative school called Skolka has been opened with a focus on AI, biotechnology, and space. We are not just training personnel, we are creating an engineering culture of a new generation.

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