MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. The Techno Yamal Company started producing aerated concrete blocks in the city of Labytnangi in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region. Investments amounted to 31.5 million rubles ($326,000), the Ministry for Development of the Far East and Arctic's press service said.

"The Techno Yamal Company, a business resident of the Russian Federation's Arctic Zone, has implemented an investment project to produce aerated concrete blocks in the city of Labytnangi. Under an agreement with the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation, the investor has invested 31.5 million rubles in the project. State support measures have significantly facilitated the business idea and lowered the economic burden at the enterprise's initial stage. The project has created 34 jobs," the release reads.

The plant produces 40 cubic meters of finished products per day, planning to increase the production to 200 cubic meters per day in the near future.

According to the company's CEO Anton Goncharov, the project's impetus was the growing popularity of aerated concrete as an affordable alternative to brick - the most popular building material with high energy efficiency. The region's potential of aerated concrete blocks is 4,500 cubic meters per month and it may grow as the region and the Arctic continue developing.

"In the Far North, it is extremely important to minimize energy needed for heating premises - houses need to be heated almost all year round, except for the short summer months. <…> Another important advantage is that the blocks may be placed maximum close to each other to be connected with a special glue. It is much thinner than a regular cement layer, and this also affects the heat conductivity," he explained.

Presently, there are 852 business residents in the Russian Arctic with the total declared investments of 902 billion rubles ($9.3 billion). New companies create 27,400 jobs.