According to the company’s spokesperson, BN-600 power-generating unit of Beloyarskaya nuclear power plant produced the rated output in January 2006. The electricity-generation schedule was complied with. There weren’t any limit or safety violations of any kind, and the rare gas activity breakthrough in January comprised 0.17% of the upper limit. The radiation level in the town of Zarechniy and the power plant site was not any bigger than usual and fluctuated between 5.5 and 5 microroentgen per hour, which is believed to be typical of Russia. The corresponding figures for Beloyarskoye

Ural Federal District Court of Arbitration declined the suit of Chelyabinsk Region Federal Antimonopoly Service and Aeroflot Airlines against Chelyabinskoye Aviapredpriyatiye JSC, Chelyabinsk airport owner, acting Director of Chelyabinsk Region Federal Antimonopoly Service Anna Koslova said to UrBC representative. ‘Our next step is presenting the suit at the Russian Federation Supreme Court of Arbitration,’ Ms Koslova said. The airport owner was sued after it had been decided at the meeting of Chelyabinsk Region Federal Antimonopoly Service Management Committee to classify the company’s

Chelyabisnkgorgas JSC, natural gas supplier, sold 131 tons of bottled condensed gas at cut and controlled prices in 2005. According to the company’s spokesperson, Governor of Chelyabinsk Region declared that people living in private houses without a gas network connection could buy bottled condensed gas at a reduced price. This price was 198 RUR per cylinder in the end of 2005, which was 52 RUR less expensive than the market price. Besides, over 1,500 residents who enjoy the right to buying privileges used this right to buy gas at half-price or even get it free of charge. This year

The extraordinary general meeting of Tagilvodka JSC shareholders was adjourned with the decision to use the company’s undisposed profits left over from the previous years (22,066,019 RUR) to raise their authorized capital. The capital is expected to reach the point of 51,072,000 RUR through the additional measure of increasing the face value of the company’s shares, which will give them 28,980,444.99 RUR of money to add up to the authorized capital. It is now possible to convert 1 uncertificated registered common share with a par value of 1 RUR to 1 uncertificated registered common share with

Central factory laboratory workers of Ufaleinickel JSC (nickel producer of Ufaley, Chelyabinsk Region) began experimental-industrial processing of nickel carbonate. Central factory laboratory engineers designed and tested in vitro a flowsheet of processing nickel carbonate yielding certain amounts of nickel salts, reports PR-department of the company to UrBC representative. Some positive results were achieved. After considering these results, a special meeting of the company’s management came up with the decision to perform a full-scale experimental-industrial checkout in the

Vladimir Dmitriev, former owner of Pyaterochka chain stores in Yekaterinburg which were bought by Pyaterochka Holding in the summer of 2005, disputes the technicalities of the transaction, says Pyaterochka press secretary. The claim is based on the ‘papers that were faultily processed at the local tax inspectorate.’ The plaintiff and his family members had laid the total of five claims but only one of them was complied with by the court. Pyaterochka is planning to appeal in April. It is specifically emphasized that the plaintiff’s demands are not aimed at the denunciation of the agreement,

Andrey Parhomchuk has been appointed Vice Sales and Purchase President of Mechel JSC, metallurgical enterprise of Chelyabinsk. His new responsibilities consist in developing the home and foreign markets for the goods produced at the mining and metallurgical enterprises belonging to Mechel JSC as well as to improve sales. Mr Parhomchuk had been Director of Metal Production Sales Department (part of Sales and Purchase Department) throughout June 2004 to January 2006. Mr Parhomchuk is also a former director of the company’s subsidiary in Beloretsk and Deputy Sales GD of Mechel firm and thus

The structuring of OGK-3 JSC in the capacity of a large operational company and a single legal entity will have been completed within two months, Member of RAO UES Board and OGK-3 Chairman Alexander Krikunov announced at the general shareholder meeting on January 31, 2006. Thus, the company will have become the full assignee in what concerns all kinds of rights and responsibilities as well as debtors and debtees of Yuzhouralskaya, Kostromskaya, Pechorskaya, Cherepetskaya, Kharanorskaya, and Gusinooserskaya State District Power Plants. The meeting was adjourned with the decision to register

According to the spokesperson for Sputnik travel agency, the number of tourists traveling to Austria on holidays seems to be decreasing. Tourism Director Marina Bondar says that there was a dramatic increase in people willing to fly to Austria during the winter holiday season, and these tourists did not come across any visa problems. ‘We had no difficulty getting Austrian visas,’ Ms Bondar said. It has already become known, however, that Austria introduced stricter visa requirements in mid-January, and Russian tour operators now have to produce the originals of their Austrian colleagues’

‘The mission term of the former consul is over,’ the spokesperson for Bulgarian Consulate in Yekaterinburg Svetlana Maslova said to UrBC representative. It was explained that the mission term lasted for three years. ‘The name of the new consul is Vasiliy K. Tsvetanov,’ Ms Maslova said.

The year 2005 was marked by the unprecedented amount of gross emissions by NTMK (Metallurgical Complex of Nizhniy Tagil) JSC, part of Evraz Group. It came to 99,700 tons per year, reports the company’s spokesperson. NTMK JSC went through an audit procedure and was given the international standard ISO 14001:2004 environmental certificate in 2005.

Sverdlovsk Region consumers will have to pay 337 099 RUR per 1,000 gigacalories in 2006, which is 11.2% more than before, Director of Sverdlovsk Region Energy Committee Nikolay Podkopai announced at today’s press conference. According to Mr Podkopai, the general tariffs for all kinds of budgetary consumers came to 378 487 RUR per 1,000 gigacalories, which means an increase of 13.4%; the tariffs for housing companies came to 322 681 RUR (an increase of 12.2% compared to 2005), the tariffs for agricultural commodity producers reached the point of 408 215 RUR (an increase of 13.1%), the tariffs

‘The introducition of Fiat dealer center in Chelyabinsk has been postponed by a minimum of two months,’ Galina Semusheva, PR Manager of SeverstalAuto JSC, said to UrBC representative. It is reported via the corporate website that SeverstalAuto JSC is hoping to sell at least 2000 Fiat cars in Russia throughout this year. The most probable flagship products are Fiat Grande Punto, Fiat Albea and Fiat Doblo. A special new dealer network is going to be set up to ensure the successful selling of cars; the network will supposedly have comprised 20 retail and service outlets by the end of 2006, 15

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel met representatives of Iva CJSC and Ural Motorists Association today. The meeting had to do with the projected construction of an auto mall to be located on Yekateriburg-Koltsovo Airport highway. The mall is to host about 30 motor shows, car repairs, hotels, test-drive tracks and a customs terminal. The mall will come to something between $ 100 and $150 million, to be completed by Iva CJSC within three years’ time.

‘The total sales of LADA and Chery brands comprised 3,000 cars in 2005,’ Natalia Voronina, Marketing Director of Lada-BEST Ltd., said to UrBC representative. ‘Given that we only started to deal in Chinese cars in November 2005, and the fierce competition among both Russian and foreign cars, this is a good record. We are expecting to increase our sales by 20% in 2006 and therefore reach the annual figure of 3,600 cars,’ Ms Voronina said.

‘We’ve sent out letters to local producers offering to set up business partnerships, and we’re going to meet suppliers in February in order to set our shared goals and Auchan’s expectations,’ General Director of Auchan Trading Company’s Assistant Olga Chuvirova said to UrBC representative. ‘The company is thinking of introducing some more hypermarkets in Sverdlovsk Region,’ Ms Chuvirova noted.

Ufaleinickel JSC (nickel producer of Ufaley, Chelyabinsk Region) has started reconstruction of its # 3 converter. The repairs include full renovation of casing, replacement of firebox wall and dust hood. The company received innovative fire-bricks from Slovakia on January 26. The bricks have never been used before an are going to be implemented for lining the converter, the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative.

Nizhnetagilsky Metallurgichesky Kombinat (Metallurgical works of Nizhny Tagil) JSC,member of Evraz Group, has defined the main objects of reconstruction for 2006, reports PR-department of the company. So, the fifth coke furnace battery shut up in July 2005 will be set in operation by the company’s by-product coke productions division. The company also hopes to finish construction of the fifth blast-furnace complex for its blast-furnace production division. The steelmaking division will acquire a new circulation vacuum vessel to be used for outgassing of molten steel. The rolling production

Magnitostroy JSC, a bankrupt plant of Magnitogorsk, has to set up the debt-paying scheme to be presented at the Chelyabinsk Region Ministry of Industry and Natural Resources by February 3, 2006. This was decided at the special meeting of Magnitogorsk town council chaired by Chelyabinsk Region Minister of Industry and Natural Resources Evgeniy Teftelev that took place last Friday. The representatives of the town council, members of local divisions of Russian Federation Pension Fund, officers of Federal Medical Insurance Fund and public prosecution bodies and the company management (acting GD

The plant owes Chelyabisnk Region about 900 million RUR at the moment, the floating debt being 154 million RUR (of which 3.2 million should be given to Medical Insurance); the pension assignments for 2002 also have to be paid. The company went bust in September 2005. Demand for Chinese Chery gradually goes up, claims Aspect Motors Ltd. ‘The demand for Chery, a Chinese car, has been going up gradually,’ says Sales Manager of Aspect Motors Ltd. Dmitriy Anufriev. ‘The brand has been increasingly gaining popularity since it became available in November 2005. We are expecting further improvements