ARKHANGELSK, October 23. /TASS/. About 30 billion rubles ($459 million) will be invested within 17 years in development of the Krasnaya Kuznitsa shipyard in Arkhangelsk, the shipyard’s Chief Engineer Alexei Minayev told TASS, adding the Arkhangelsk Region’s government has granted a priority status to this project.

The "Krasnaya Kuznitsa" (in Russian - Red Forge) enterprise is a branch of the Zvezdochka ship repair facility, a part of the United Shipbuilding Corporation.

"Krasnaya Kuznitsa’s reconstruction and renovation will attract more than 30 billion rubles within 17 years," the chief engineer said. "That would be own and borrowed money; the borrowed money will make about a third part, and at most important stages, the United Shipbuilding Company will make investments."

The project’s objective is to use Krasnaya Kuznitsa’s base to organize a modern shipbuilding and repairing enterprise for vessels in the North-Western Federal District. The new facility will also make elements for drilling rigs.

"With this upgrade, the plant will begin a new life, focusing on civil shipbuilding and on construction of maritime equipment," the plant’s Deputy Chief Engineer Viktor Timoshkin told TASS. "We shall produce equipment for gas and oil fields - those are very big vast projects."

Investments in the plant’s new equipment will make 13 billion rubles, and 17 billion rubles will be invested in construction and installation works. Besides, five new blocks of flats in Arkhangelsk’s Solombalsky District will cost another 1.2 billion rubles.

"Thus, the new enterprise’s personnel will be more than 3,600 people, while now we employ slightly more than 300," the chief engineer said. "The biggest employment will be in about five years - more than 2,500 specialists."

At the first stage, the enterprise will be upgraded to produce maritime equipment, and the second stage would be making infrastructures for civil shipbuilding. The third and fourth stages would be to support the enterprise’s competences in repairing the Navy’s vessels.

"Implementation of this project is strategically important for the Arkhangelsk Region," the local administration’s press service quoted Governor Igor Orlov as saying. "By upgrading Krasnaya Kuznitsa, we shall keep the shipyard’s glorious traditions, and the enterprise and its specialists will have promising future."

 

The enterprise’s history

The history of Krasnaya Kuznitsa goes back to 1887, when the first workshops appeared at the Arkhangelsk port. In the 2000s, the plant went bankrupt, and in 2011 it became a part of Zvezdochka.

"Back then, Zvezdochka bought this territory and the shops, everything was ruined here, and now we are reconstructing the plant," the deputy chief engineer said. "We are building the second couple of ice-class tugs, one of them is ready by 95% already, and earlier we have built a self-propelled vessel for the Far North.".