Russian government to spend extra $5.4 bln on real economy

MOSCOW, December 15 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian government plans to spend an extra 150 billion rubles ($5.4 billion) to prop up the real sector of the economy amid the global financial crisis, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Monday.

Together with the earlier approved 175 billion ruble ($6.3 billion) rescue package, support for the real economy will total 325 billion rubles ($11.7 billion), Kudrin told a government meeting.

He stressed that Russia's economy had not yet slipped into recession, "There is no recession in Russia yet."

Kudrin also said that the Russian government had forecast GDP growth of up to 3% in 2009.

Planned price rises for natural monopolies will be at least 10-15% lower than planned in 2009, Kudrin said.

"Growth in tariffs will be conceivably adjusted downward, at least by 10-15% from the planned level," Kudrin said.

Initially the adjustment will affect rail transport, household gas and electricity rates, Kudrin said.