MURMANSK, May 26. /TASS/. The Murmansk Region’s government and the Norilsk Nickel Company (Nornickel) on May 20 presented a concept for development of the Pechengsky District. Nornickel’s Director of the Social Policies Department Svetlana Ivchenko told reporters the parties would also implement in the region a program to develop sustainable economy after Kola MMC closed down its melting shop.
The Kola MMC’s melting shop is the key business in the Nickel town, where about 11,000 live. Along with supporting divisions, the shop employs about 600 people. Their jobs will be cut gradually, and the shop will be closed by 2021. Nornickel and the regional authorities have been working on a program to settle the employment issue in the town.
"Our next step is to develop a program for the district’s social and economic development, which will be a part of the Murmansk region’s program," she said. "The program will outline the initiatives, projects and actions. <…> We have been working on the program’s all directions."
According to Nornickel, the program outlines five directions. First of all, a complex of measures to stabilize the situation - measures to support the shop’s former personnel. "The state incentives cover the spheres of social infrastructures, social institutions, transport," she said. "Another direction is to form up the new economy - the objectives are production diversity, development of the tourism industry, small and medium businesses both in industries and services, and the tourism sector."
"We also see it important to develop the urban environment in Nickel after the shop is closed, and here we include work on the town’s master plan, organization of the public space, brand formation, and promotion of the town’s new image," the company’s representative said.
According to her presentation, the program would be ready in July 2020, and the concept, including formation of the district’s new sustainable economy, will be implemented by 2022.
Closing melting shop and offering new jobs
The decision to close down the melting shop was not easy, she said. "It took the company quite long to take this decision, but we’ve never doubted this would be done in a socially responsible manner. <…> The main reason for the decision is that it is impossible to upgrade the outdated technology to fit modern norms for the environment protection," she explained. "We realize that the decision to close down the shop affects the economy of entire region."
The company is concerned about the people, who lose jobs, and this problem has been settled to a big extent, Director General of Kola MMC (Nornickel’s subsidiary production unit) Evgeny Borzenko said. "We have not settled the issue with only 119 people, and with the rest we have discussed everything at various levels. Some have been employed, others have found jobs or even moved to the region’s other districts, for example, to Monchegorsk," he said, adding the company allocates more than 900 million rubles ($12.7 million) to support people, who have lost their jobs.
The district’s new economy
The program has been drafted jointly with authorities of the region and the district. The Murmansk Region’s Deputy Governor Olga Kuznetsova said about four major investment projects in the district, which will offer 616 jobs.
"As for new investment projects, we have been working on them, and we want them to use the labor force from the melting shop," she said. "Those are very many people, who still are not sure what they will do when the shop is closed."
The projects include a big data processing center, a metallurgical plant, an abrasive plant, and a farm to grow Atlantic salmon and trout.
"Second School" assists in attracting businesses
The company and the local authorities have established a non-governmental organization Second School - a center for social projects in the Pechengsky District. It operates development of Nornickel’s projects with support from the local administration. "The center’s tasks are based on priority directions for the social and economic development, the first and most important is development of businesses. First of all, it would be detailed work on opportunities and potential the district has to raise its attractiveness for investors. It is a task to form up new values and new business thinking for the district’s residents," the center’s Director Andrei Fomenko said, adding the center also focuses on development of tourism, including with Norway and Finland, and on development of the urban environment.
The center will implement in the district 17 projects, including Nornickel’s business residence, a business school, development of trans-border relations and organization of tourism conventions, organization of international conventions of volunteers, establishment of a tourism center, implementation of the Social Movie project jointly with Norway’s Tvibit, organization of the Gustroindustry Russian cuisine festival, and development of the urban environment.
Investments in Murmansk Region
TASS wrote earlier that to 2023, Nornickel will invest in the Murmansk Region more than 100 billion rubles ($1.4 billion). The company and the region signed a cooperation agreement in October, 2019. Nornickel’s CEO and owner Vladimir Potanin stressed the cooperation with the region would progress "to a new level" not only due to the big investment program, but also due to social and tourism projects.