SEVASTOPOL, June 2. /TASS/. The city of Sevastopol will become a ship-building and repair center meeting the needs of the Black Sea Fleet, which will allow for keeping busy small and medium enterprises operating in the industry, the city’s acting governor, Dmitry Ovsyannikov, told TASS in an interview on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"Already now there is as project for creating a shipbuilding and repair center in Sevastopol on the basis of four shipyards that will mostly meet the needs of the Black Sea Fleet. This will help keep busy small enterprises, which are mostly focused on repairing civilian ships and small vessels," he said.
Ovsyannikov said the industry’s parameters were not very high for the time being.
"If one takes a look at the statistics, they will appear not very impressing to you. The shipbuilding industry currently employs a total workforce of 3,000 and the share of the real sector, apart from shipbuilding and repairs, stands at 6%," he acknowledged.
Under a draft strategy for the region’s economic and social development extending till 2030 the economy’s structure is to undergo fundamental change.
"Parameters will double or even triple. Instead of 3,000 employed in shipbuilding and repairs today about 7,000 will be working in this sector," Ovsyannikov said.
Shipbuilding and repairs have been Sevastopol’s traditional industry all along. In Soviet years the Sevastopol Ship Plant had a workforce of 16,000. By 2014 the staff had shrunk to less than 200. After Sevastopol’s reunification with Russia the plant joined the United Shipbuilding Corporation Zvyozdochka as an affiliate. A fundamental upgrade is underway. The plant’s staff has grown to 600 and a major contract signed last year will require hiring another 100 workers.
SPIEF
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is held on June 1-3. This year’s motto is In Search of New Balance in the Global Economy. TASS is the forum’s general information partner and official photohost agency. The agency is the operator of the forum’s presentation area.