Vladimir Putin arrived in Nizhny Novgorod to open a new cable bridge. Magna-Sberbank consortium are looking forward to buy Opel and find a strategic industrial partner. GAZ Group is viewed as one of the possible partners of the consortium. Water Solidarity Europe organized the first Youth Water Parliament in Russia. Learn more in the weekly overview of events by FederalPress.
Vladimir Putin arrived in Nizhny Novgorod to open a new cable bridge. Magna-Sberbank consortium are looking forward to buy Opel and find a strategic industrial partner. GAZ Group is viewed as one of the possible partners of the consortium. Water Solidarity Europe organized the first Youth Water Parliament in Russia. Learn more in the weekly overview of events by FederalPress.
New bridge
Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of Russia, came to Nizhny Novgorod on October 1, 2009 to open a new bridge over the river Oka. The bridge connects the ancient Russian town Murom, Vladimir Region, with Nizhny Novgorod.
This cable bridge is a direct gateway and a considerable shortcut to Moscow from a number of regions in the Central Russia.
At the opening Vladimir Putin referred to a long-term program started in 2005 aiming to build 18 unique bridges in the country. Almost all of the bridge projects will be fulfilled in 2009. Prime Minister promised to continue the program and hire bridge-constructors to restore, repair and re-build old bridges erected in 1960s and 1970s.
Strategy-2020
Nizhny Novgorod Region needs to catch up with its strategic plan. Before the financial crisis the region had been developing according to the Strategy-2020. But this year has been quite difficult and the tempo of industrial and economic growth considerably slowed down. Governor Valery Shantsev urges the region “to catch up”.
Hopefully the volume of industrial production by the end of 2009 will make 80% of the last year’s level. Short-term goal of the government is to return to the economic indices similar to those before the crisis.
GDP of the region is expected to grow by 1-2% in 2010, and by 5.5% in 2012. The volume of investments into the regional economy might reach 218.5 billion rubles next year.
Sberbank and Magna International
The head of Sberbank of Russia German Gref and co-CEO of the Canadian automobile manufacturer Magna International Siegfried Wolf visited Gorkovsky Automobile Plant (GAZ Group) last week.
German Gref says the purchase of Opel by Magna-Sberbank consortium has been decided upon. The deal will take place in the middle of October after all papers are ready. Both Magna and Sberbank agree that GAZ Group is an approved partner in the Opel project, says German Gref.
GAZ Group might also become a shareholder of Sberbank. Sberbank hopes to structure relations with a strategic industrial partner which has corporate relations with Opel and can use a wide range of resources to produce current automobiles and develop new platforms.
“Our main priority after signing the deal will be visits to all Russian automobile manufacturers to see and explore opportunities to place Opel production”, commented Siegfried Wolf of Magna. It means that GAZ (Gorkovsky Automobile Plant) is not the only candidate for the role of the strategic industrial partner.
Titanium and Zircon deposit
Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Valery Shantsev visited village Itmanovo where a deposit of titanium and zircon sands is under development. Titanium is imported to the region mainly from the Ukraine. Both titanium and zircon are invaluable for the Russian nuclear power industry.
Nearly 10 million rubles will be allotted for the development of this deposit in 2010. Exploration works started at the village back in 1970s. The current plan assumes building an ore-processing facility in 2012-2013. Industrial development of the deposit will reach its designed capacity of 1500 tons of ore by 2014. The license for geological exploration and mining was issued to the company “Geostar”, it is valid until 2012.
The new mining facility will employ over 300 people in production and create over 2000 jobs in service industry.
Youth international projects
19th annual scientific conference of the Nuclear Society of Russia “Energy-Society-Information” started in Moscow and then re-located to Nizhny Novgorod. Its main purpose was to support the construction of a nuclear power station in the region.
The students of Nizhny Novgorod Agricultural Academy participated in a joint Russia-Finland project “Model Wood: Volga Forestry”. A Model Wood will be created near the town of Semenov and will become an experimental territory for the search of better use of mixed coniferous-broad-leafed forests of the Volga District. The project’s ideology promotes maintaining ecological functions of the woods, preserving biodiversity and providing economic stability of the timber industry.
80 delegates from 13 countries came to Nizhny Novgorod to participate in the European Youth Water Parliament. The choice of Nizhny Novgorod is not accidental. The city is home to the Coordination Center of the Russian Rivers Network.
This is the first Youth Water Parliament organized in Russia by the international non-profit organization Water Solidarity Europe (Strasbourg, France).