[ferro-alloys.com]The annual economic forum where Nornickel traditionally acts as general partner has just ended in Krasnoyarsk. The highlight of KEF’18 was a roadshow for the interregional project “Yenisei Siberia” aimed at joint development of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Republic of Tuva and the Republic of Khakassia. The concept of establishing the economic zone was proposed by the Krasnoyarsk Territory’s Acting Governor Alexander Uss last year and then supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2018.

Nornickel is responsible for one of the biggest elements of the Yenisei Siberia, namely South Cluster. It is a range of long-term projects aimed at increasing the number of industrial sites in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. New mining capacities of 4 mt will be put into operation as part of the project. The capacity of Zapolyarny mine will be stepped up from 1.2 to 2 mt. Tailing facilities of Norilsk Concentrator will be also expanded and upgraded, and the basic infrastructure developed. The production is to be launched in 2021, with mining capacities reaching 6 mt by 2024. At the same time, the efficiency of processing of secondary resources at Tailings Pit No. 1 will significantly improve.

The South Cluster concept was presented at KEF’18 by Elena Bezdenezhnykh, Nornickel’s Vice President, State Secretary and Head of GR. “By developing this project we are not just realising potential of Siberia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory, but we are also acting on many of the instructions received from the President in his message, i.e. the exploration of the Arctic Region, development of human capital, import substitution, making the Krasnoyarsk Territory and Russia more eco-friendly, etc.,” says Elena Bezdenezhnykh.

According to Elena, government support will help ensure the most efficient and effective implementation of the project. The forms of support include the introduction of investment tax deductions, use of the regional investment project mechanism with the entry into the Regional Investment Project Participant Register, the application of regional tax benefits, i.e. reduced property tax rates. The Krasnoyarsk Territory’s authorities confirmed their willingness to revisit the region’s investment policy approaches.

Besides, at KEF, Nornickel signed an agreement with the Krasnoyarsk Government on taking measures to revamp the capital of the Territory, including reconstruction of the Yenisei and Kacha River embankments, the installation of a colour-changing lighting system on Kommunalny Bridge, land improvements in the territory near the entertainment park Bobrovy Log, the venue of the 29th Winter Universiade 2019.

Arkady Dvorkovich, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, summed up the results of KEF’18: “We’ve got an idea of what to do. When it comes to the federal-level agenda, everything discussed will be incorporated into the future work guidelines for the Government after the May appointments. As for the regional-level agenda, we have now a clear understanding of which projects we should proceed with in the nearest future.”

About 100 important agreements, contracts and memoranda mostly concerning the interregional project “Yenisei Siberia” and the upcoming Universiade were signed during the three days of the Forum. More than 5.5 thousand people from 30 countries worldwide and 60 Russian regions took part in KEF.

• [Editor:王可]