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Russia's Far East authorities plan construction of new dams

Russia’s Far East was hit by heavy floods last summer and autumn.

Zeya Hydroelectric Power Plant ITAR-TASS/Vitaly Ragulin

Zeya Hydroelectric Power Plant

© ITAR-TASS/Vitaly Ragulin

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KHABAROVSK, January 17. /ITAR-TASS/. Authorities of the Khabarovsk territory in Russia’s Far East plan to build new high-capacity dams over the next five or six years against floods similar to that which hit the region last year, the press service of the territory’s administration said on Friday.

Russia’s Far East was hit by heavy floods last summer and autumn. Meteorologists say the natural calamity was the worst to hit the region over the past 120 years.

Tens of thousands were evacuated and more than 100,000 were affected. Russia’s Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi estimated the cost of damages from the spill of the Amur river at more than 25 billion roubles (some $750 million).

The press service said the construction project would cost about 15 billion roubles ($450 million) and that Khabarovsk Governor Vycheslav Shport had already approved the programme of the project’s feasibility study.

Most of the new dams are planned to be built on the Amur river, where water level peaked at more than 8.1 metres (26.5 feet) last September, beating the record mark of 642 centimetres (21 feet) registered in 1897. The critical water level near the region’s largest city, Khabarovsk, stands at six metres.

This year, the territory’s authorities plan to carry out research works for the future building of the dams, while actual construction is scheduled to start in 2015, the press service added.

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