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Shipbuilding cluster to be set up in Kaliningrad

The plant will be able to build 6-8 ships by 2020

KALININGRAD, November 12. /TASS/. A shipbuilding cluster will be set up in Kaliningrad before 2017 at the site of the Baltic shipbuilding plant Yantar, the acting director-general of the plant, Viktor Tutynin, said at hearings in the regional Duma (parliament) on Tuesday.

“We hope that after the modernization and enlargement of Yantar capacities and in cooperation in the cluster, the plant will be able to build 6-8 ships already by 2020,” Tutynin said.

As the share of state defense orders will decrease by 2018-2020, the plant, whose capacities will grow two-four times, will focus on civil shipbuilding.

Construction of first two high-technological fishing vessels ordered by a company will begin at the shipyard already in 2015.

Yantar plans to build special-purpose vessels, such as hospital ships, ferries, service vessels for sea oil and gas production and others.

“Appropriate ministries and agencies need such vessels, and we will take part to build them,” Tutynin said.

For their cost and quality, Kaliningrad ships will be able to compete with foreign ones, he added.

Large-scale work was continuing at the plant to develop its production capacities, the director said. It is part of a federal program. The Industry and Trade Ministry has allocated 15 billion rubles ($323 mln) for this purpose.

The regional government plans to give grants to universities to train specialists for the shipbuilding industry.

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