MOSCOW: Three Siberian provinces held referendums on Sunday on whether to merge to become Russia’s vastest region in a move which could give the Kremlin a pattern for reducing the number of loss-making territories.

More than half of voters in Krasnoyarsk region and two neighbouring autonomous districts of Evenkiya and Taimyr have to support the motion to create of a joint province ten times the size of Germany, but with a population of just 3 million.

The three regions reflect the situation in Russia where more than two-thirds of the 89 provinces depend on subsidies from the federal budget.

The Krasnoyarsk region, home of the world’s biggest producer of nickel and palladium company, Norilsk Nickel, and Russia’s second largest aluminium smelter owned by RUSAL company, is a net contributor to the state budget.

But Moscow spends 2 billion roubles ($71.68 million) a year to support loss-making Taimyr and Evenkiya. Together their 57,000 inhabitants populate a vast area of 1.6 million square km.

The united province would continue getting subsidies for two years only. But Krasnoyarsk governor Alexander Khloponin, the champion of the merger, said losses could be recovered. “Investment programmes, which will be carried out as part of the merger, will create an extra 40,000 jobs,” he said in an interview to radio Mayak.—Reuters