With foreign companies, particularly automotive concerns increasingly frequently targeting the northwest and central Russia, the $200 million project would be something of a coup for the Volgograd Region.
"The plants are to produce 200,000 tons of tomato products a year - ketchups, concentrated juice, and paste," a regional administration official said.
Pavel Chumakov, deputy head of the regional administration, earlier said the project was only feasible as a Russian-Chinese joint venture.
Speaking Tuesday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, President Vladimir Putin said that direct investment into Russia's economy in 2005 had grown by about 40%, and that this year the government expected the figure to be even higher.
