March 07, 2014. The volume of coal handled by Sverdlovsk Railways decreased by 51.7% in February 2014 compared with February 2013 and amounted to 28,300 tons, the company's press service reports. The shipment of building materials dropped by 14.6% down to 1,500m kg, that of ferrous metals declined by 8.3% down to 800,000,000 kg, that of ferrous metal scrap decreased by 10% down to 200,000,000 kg, that of iron and manganese ore declined by 7.6% down to 1,000m kg, that of cement declined by 10.3% down to 200,000,000 kg, that of timber declined by 9.7% down to 200,000,000 kg, and that of

March 07, 2014. Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ, a member enterprise of Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation) is about to complete the shipment of a large batch of spare parts for bulldozers to Uzbekistan in March 2014, the corporation's press service reports. Early in the year, a carriage full of spare parts for the Uzbek consumers who routinely use ChTZ bulldozers for stripping operations (among other things) was already shipped to this Central Asian country. A large batch with joints, motor parts, and running gear will ensure quality maintenance and operation of the

March 07, 2014. As of January 1, 2014, there are 115 lending institutions in Sverdlovsk Region that are allowed to perform banking transactions, including 16 Sverdlovsk Region-based commercial banks, 36 subsidiaries of such banks, 61 subsidiaries of lending institutions whose HQ are in other federal constituencies, and 2 subsidiaries of Sberbank of Russia's Ural branch, the Economics Ministry's press service says. Sverdlovsk Region-based banks operate 32 subsidiaries outside their federal constituency. All in all, the number of bank branches located in Sverdlovsk Region rose by 50

March 07, 2014. Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant (ChTPZ) will deliver a batch of large-diameter pipes to Gazprom in March-June 2014 to put up the second extension of the Bovanenkovo-Ukhta natural gas pipeline, the company's press service says. The shipment will thus come to more than 45,000,000 kg and the contract is worth over 4bn RUR. LDPs with the diameter of 1,420mm and wall width of 23mm and 27.7mm are made of K65 (X80) strength grade steel and have an outer and inner three-layer corrosion-resistant coating; the operational pressure is 11.8 megapscals (120 arm). All of these LDPs will

March 07, 2014. Ural Airlines are now offering a preliminary booking option for the flights from the Far East to the European part of Russia and back that are partly covered for by the government. This is done within the framework of the state program on making air travel more affordable for the Russians living in the Far East; the departure dates run from April 1, 2014 to October 31, 2014, the airline's press service says. Under this program, specially priced tickets can be obtained by Russian citizens under 23, females over 55 and males over 60, people with disabilities and those who