ST. PETERSBURG, August 3. /TASS/. Russia's Sberbank will invest about 50 billion rubles ($830 million) in building of a series of nuclear icebreakers, head of the bank's North-Western branch Viktor Vetimilla Alonso said at TASS' press center in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
Building of the main nuclear icebreaker Arktika of project 22220 began at the Baltiisky shipbuilding plant in November, 2013. After that icebreaker, the plant will produce Sibir and Ural icebreakers. The construction of three icebreakers is estimated at about 120 billion rubles ($2 billion).
"We have invested about 50 billion rubles in building the Arktika, Sibir and Urals icebreakers, issued almost eight billion (rubles) ($130 million) in loans and 42 billion (rubles) ($700 million) in guarantees," he said, adding the bank supports actively the project of developing the Arctic.
About the icebreakers
Russia's nuclear energy authority, Rosatom, said earlier, the United Shipbuilding Corporation asked to delay finishing the new Arktika icebreaker (the icebreaker is built to escort vessels along the Northern Sea Route) from 2017 to a later time. The authority said the delay would not cause problems with cargo deliveries along the Route. The Kremlin also said does not think the delay may be critical. The shipbuilders used the technologies new to the nuclear fleet: the double sea gauge to escort caravans of vessels both through ice and in river mouth, and with the new nuclear reactor the icebreaker will be able to work without calling at port for more than six months.