November 22, 2013. Sverdlovsk Region Prime Minster Denis Pasler took part in the opening of Belgium's Lhoist Group's first office in Russia; the Belgian company set up a joint venture with Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK) to put up and launch the first section of a limestone producing and processing facility in Sverdlovsk Region by 2016, Sverdlovsk Region Government's Press Service & Information Department reports.

The project is being worked on on the premises of Yuzhno-Mikhailovskoye deposit and is expected to result in 250 new jobs. The first two out of four sections of the facility are estimated to require over 5bn RUR worth of investments.

Denis Pasler said during the opening ceremony that this project could serve as one of the examples of how Sverdlovsk Region was working to increase its investment appeal, including the appeal for foreign businesses.

'We are doing a very important thing together. A new production facility in such a small territory is crucial to both the well-being of the town and to the locals' feeling confident about their future. What is more, the Region's Government has already adopted a set of documents to promote the launch of new facilities and the upgrade of existing ones. We are also looking into ways of offering tax relief not only to those projects that are being started from scratch but also to the second sections of projects if this is about increasing investment potential,' Pasler explained.