$25M To Be Spent On Construction Of Plant For Chemical Weapons Utilization

It is planned to spend $25 million on the construction of the plant for utilization of chemical weapons at the border between Chelyabinsk and Kurgan Regions in 2002. $2.5 million allocated by foreign participants of the project were spent on the construction of this facility this year, and 250 million rubles (about $8.3 million) were allocated from the federal budget. A representative of the management of the Magnistroi company, which had won the tender for the plant construction, the volume of construction work will grow by at least 10 times in 2002. Other large-scale construction and projects will also be implemented to develop the infrastructure of Shchuchye, where the plant is being built. Gas supplies to this village will be established. At the same time new jobs will be created: at least 1,500 new jobs will be available due to the construction of the industrial facilities and public utilities. Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who presided over the final international meeting of participants of the project in June 2001, personally supervises the construction of the plant. Ten countries, including the US, the UK, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Canada, Germany, etc. take part in the implementation and financing of this project. The estimated cost of this project is about $100 million.