MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the first stage of the Amur Gas Processing Plant (GPP), which is being built by Gazprom near the town of Svobodny in Russia’s Far East, on Wednesday. He took part in the ceremonial event in a video-conference mode.

"Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, from the central control room of Gazprom, we manage all production processes: gas production, transportation, storage, processing and distribution. Today, the Amur Gas Processing Plant is ready to be connected to our single control center. Let me ask you to give start to the plant," Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said at the ceremony.

"Let’s get started," Putin said.

After this phrase, gas began to flow to the plant. The head of state congratulated Gazprom on the successful commissioning of the first stage of the project. "I congratulate you once again on this event. This is a capital-intensive and knowledge-intensive project. The cost of the entire project is over 1 trillion rubles [$13.8 bln]. I am sure that the last stage will be commissioned in 2024-2025, as planned," Putin said.

Miller noted that Gazprom was able to complete the project on schedule. "The construction timetable was very, very tough. A tremendous amount of work was done, and today we can say that we are launching the plant strictly according to schedule. It took less than six years," the gas giant executive said.

Role for the region

According to Vasily Orlov, governor of the Amur Region, the launch of the first stage of the Amur GPP is a historic moment for the region and for the whole country.

"Without exaggeration, the implementation of this major investment project is one of the drivers of our region's development. The Amur GPP has a multiplier effect: it replenishes the regional budget, thanks to it, new production facilities and new jobs appear. Communications, road, rail and river infrastructure, social facilities, a residential neighborhood for employees are being built," he said.

Orlov stressed that Gazprom is rendering great assistance in the implementation of new socially significant projects in the field of culture, sports, education, and the formation of a comfortable urban environment in Svobodny.

About Amur GPP

The Amur GPP is one of the largest infrastructure projects of Gazprom in the Russian Far East. It will be the anchor enterprise of the advanced gas processing hub in that region.

The plant will process multi-component natural gas from Yakutia and Irkutsk gas production centers. The design capacity of the facility will be 42 bln cubic meters of gas per year. The plant will comprise the world’s largest helium production facility - up to 60 mln cubic meters per year. The plant will consist of six production lines.