Putin saves Sevmash from economic crisis
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has sign a decree on a 4 billion rubles allocation to Sevmash in Severodvinsk outside Arkhangelsk to help the shipyard overcome economic difficulties.
According to Minister of Industry and Energy Viktor Khristenko, the money is transferred to the shipyard as contribution to the plant’s capital stock, Rosbalt.ru reports
In addition to the immediate allocation, the Russian Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs will probably give a five year prolongation of a 6 billion rubles credit the shipyard has received earlier, Khristenko said.
Sevmash is Russia’s largest shipbuilding complex, and the only one who’s main mission is to build nuclear submarines. The shipyard has about 75 percent military orders and 25 percent civilian orders, ARMS-TASS writes.
The civilian side of production at Sevmash is focused on projects for oil and gas exploration on the Arctic shelf.
Amongst the most important civilian orders for the moment, is the ice-protected drilling platform “Prirazlomnaya”, which is on the stage of completion. As BarentsObserver reported, the Prirazlomnaya platform is planned to be handed over to Gazprom in 2010, after which testing platform will start in the Barents Sea.
