Where the Turka River, surrounded by picturesque banks, flows into the great Baikal, along the Barguzinsky tract, 169 km from the city of Ulan-Ude, there is a small village of the same name with it. In Turka, tourists often stop to rest, attracted by the extraordinary beauty of these places. Once it was an ordinary village on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal, but today Turka is included in the special tourist and recreational zone "Baikal Harbor", on the territory of which mass construction of resorts and the infrastructure necessary for a comfortable stay is planned.
Traces of global construction
At the moment, traces of global construction are really noticeable in Turka: a huge embankment has appeared near the village, where you can stroll in the evenings. In addition, one of the first modern ports on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal was built here. Everything looks amazing, butyet the village is striking in its emptiness and desertion. The local vacationers, according to their reviews, get the impression that the successfully started construction after about 30% of the work was abandoned, due to the fact that, apparently, the builders simply ran out of funds. Perhaps someday, as planned, this village will indeed become one of the magnificent recreation centers in the Baikal Harbor SEZ, but today Turka is just a small village near a beautiful and spacious embankment, along which, alas, almost no one not walking.
SEZ "Baikal Harbor" will certainly become a Mecca for tourists
According to journalists, very soon the stalled construction of the SEZ, with which the future of Turki and other villages on the coast of the sacred lake, so beloved by tourists, is inextricably linked today, will indeed turn into one of the main centers of attraction for travelers and a real tidbit for investors. According to media reports, the tourist zone in the Pribaikalsky district of Buryatia had a chance to go through a difficult period in its history. Today, the SEZ "Baikal Harbor" is getting a second chance: last year it was given back a special economic status, but now the construction, which began several years ago and not so long ago, is being revived. Over the next three years, it is planned to invest about 840 million rubles in the development of a large-scale project. According to media reports, the authorities of the republic and the leadership of Baikalskaya Gavan decided to get rid of the residents who did not fulfill the terms of the agreements signed with them, and to attractmore successful new ones.
History of the creation of the zone
"Baikal Harbor" is a special economic zone of a tourist and recreational type, created by a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation in 2007. The main goal of creating the "Baikal Harbor" was to form a modern center of international tourism in the east of Russia and increase the competitiveness of the sanatorium-resort and tourist product based on the use of a unique natural object, which is Lake Baikal.
Geography
The territory of the zone is located within the boundaries of the municipality "Pribaikalsky district" (the central part of Buryatia) on the eastern coast of Lake Baikal. The coastline of the great lake stretches along the SEZ for about 60 km - from the village of Gremyachinsk to Cape Katkov on the border with the Barguzinsky district. The total area of "Baikal Harbor" is 3283 hectares.
From the south, the SEZ adjoins the valley of the Khaim River, which is located in these places. On the territory of the tourist zone are Lake Kokotel and - to the south - Mount Bull. Settlements located within the zone - Gremyachinsk, Goryachinsk, Turka, Istok, Cheryomushka, Yartsy, Kokotel.
Specialization
Specialization of the SEZ TRT "Baikal Harbor" was to be the development of ski tourism, family vacations, spas, treatment with oriental medicine methods, and the organization of cruises on Lake Baikal. Today, the zone includes five objects: Turka, Goryachinsk, Sands, Bychya mountain, Bezymyannaya bay. Construction was planned in them:
- in Turku - trade-entertainment center "Fishing Village"; a yacht club with a marina serving the infrastructure;
- in Sands - a tourist and recreational complex, consisting of several zones of entertainment and recreation;
- on Mount Bull - ski all-season resort;
- in Bezymyanny Bay - a family vacation center;
- in Goryachinsk - a spa resort.
Construction
The foundation stone for the construction of the SEZ was laid in July 2009. The ceremony was attended by A. Kudrin, Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, V. Nagovitsyn, President of the Republic of Buryatia, A. Alpatov, head of RosSEZ, as well as resident companies. At the end of 2010, the first stage of the infrastructure of the tourist zone was put into operation: the embankment, power supply facilities, domestic sewage, on-site water supply networks. In February 2011, the work of treatment facilities and an electrical substation began. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation signed an agreement on the development of a tourist zone with nine residents of the SEZ. It was planned to attract investments in the amount of 36 billion rubles to the construction.
Problems
The further history of Baikalskaya Gavan is fraught with several scandals. In 2014, it became clear that the construction had failed, because after 7 years, out of more than 20 billion budget funds invested in it, only a fifth was used, and, despite the fact that a lot of money was spent on the development of the zone, tourists who came to the lake continue to relax "savages" or rent houses in villages where there is absolutely no infrastructure.
Rebirth
It seemed that the construction of the SEZ could be put to rest. But everything changed with the change of leadership of the republic and the arrival of A. Togoshiev as the general director of the tourist zone. Currently, the SEZ is being transferred to the republican ownership. The issue of attracting new effective residents and terminating agreements with violating deadlines is also being resolved. At two sites - in Turka and Pisky - the infrastructure necessary to start work has already been built. The construction of the Baikal Harbor is scheduled to be completed by 2021. Currently, over 22 billion rubles have been attracted to the project. state and over 47 billion rubles. private investment.
Future Key Water Tourism Center
Today, although Turka is not yet a particularly popular and attractive place to stay, many tourists believe that they should definitely visit it - even if just stopping along the way. Climb the lighthouse, walk along the embankment, swim in the river of the same name - the water in it is much warmer than in an open lake. The weather in Turka is quite consistent with the mild climate, which makes it possible to grow strawberries and raspberries on local farms without warming. In the vicinity of the village there are extensive plantations of mushrooms and berries: blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries.
The port in Turka became the first object from which the construction of the SEZ "Baikal Harbor" began. Someday, as planned, a real water tourism center will certainly grow here with a hotel complex, a cottage village, a yacht club and much more. And while in thisin a village of about 1,400 residents, vacationers have to settle for guest houses of various levels: from establishments with simple and uncomfortable rooms to hotels with luxury rooms.
Today there are ten guest houses in Turka: "Baikal Harbor", "Solnyshko", "At the Pestovs", "Mayak", "7 Feet" (hostel), etc. The cost varies depending on the chosen hotel and room categories: from 500 to 3 thousand rubles.
People come to Turku mainly for a measured and calm rest, for the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the surrounding nature, go fishing or some extreme sport, for example, river rafting. Beautiful mountains, forests rich in herbs and berries, clean air and endless deserted sandy beaches will not let a real connoisseur get bored.
