According to the data presented by Sverdlovsk Region Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the output of vodka and liquors produced by Ekaterinburgskiy Likerovodochniy Zavod (Winery of Yekaterinburg) PLC comprised 385280 decalitres in 2005, which exceeds the figures for 2004 by 74%. The winery produced 33060 decalitres of vodka and liquors in December 2005 (as opposed to previous December’s 36100 decalitres, of which 3,000 decalitres had not been sold by January 1, 2006.

IGN Rt, a Hungarian enterprise, is about to set up a joint venture for assembling oil-electrical engines and gas plants with 0.5 to 1 megawatt capacity with Energan-Ural Ltd. As Energan-Ural GD Alexei Morosov explains, these will be Russian power units that will be used in the assembling process, including the units produced by Ural Diesel Engine Works, with generators and automated machinery supplied by the leading foreign makers. It is, however, in the company’s plans to replace all the foreign accessories by their locally made counterparts. IGN Rt GD Robert haraika says that the decision

‘The wholesale combustive-lubricating supplies prices have been artificially increased by the producers,’ says Director of Combustive-Lubricating Supplies Department of Computer Ltd. (part of Tatneft filling stations network) Evgeniy Yanenko. ‘The prices went up after more fuel had come to be used due to the cold weather. Refineries normally do this to increase their profits, but if one discards the cold-weather factor, the retail prices are not supposed to go up until February,’ Mr Yanenko reports. The data presented by courtesy of Kortes information agency indicate that Russian wholesale

The wholesale oil prices have gone up by 3% to 4% since the beginning f January, reports the spokesperson for Sverdlovsknefteproduct JSC (part of Sibneft JSC). The price of AI-80 petrol, for instance, had gone up by 6.7%, or 820 RUR per ton, the price of AI-92 is now 670 RUR per ton, or 4.6% higher, AI-96 and diesel oil are now being sold 70 RUR per ton/0.4% and 180 RUR per ton/1% more expensively. As Marketing Director of Sverdlovsknefteproduct JSC Pavel Sotulenko says, the company isn’t going to announce any other price increases in January: ‘We’ve already been buying oil at new wholesale

The annual natural gas import in the region has been going up steadily from 15.3 billion cubic meters in 1999 to 18.1 billion cubic meters in 2005, and 120 to 150 new natural gas consumers requiring 600 to 800 million cubic meters a year are likely to emerge in the Mid-Urals within the next two years. The agreement between Sverdlovsk Region Government and ITERA Holding PLC states that the regional consumers should receive 71 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the years 2005-2008. Yet the consumption forecast indicates that people are going to need 4.8 billion cubic meters more than this

11,877 flights departed from Koltsovo airport in Yekaterinburg; this exceeds the figures for 2004 by 0.5%. 9,161 flights (an increase of 3.8% compared to 2004) were bound for various Russian cities, 801 flights (a decrease of 17.8%) left for the cities of NIS, and 1,915 (a 5.4% decrease) were long-distance international ones. According to Koltsovo spokesperson, the airport served over 1.5 million clients (1,566 792 people), which means a slight increase of 0.8% compared to 2004. Koltsovo airport also transferred 11,544 900 tons of goods and mail, which signifies a 44.6% decrease compared to

‘Yekaterinburg is on the threshold of an office building boom’ Member of Ural Chamber of Real Estate Board and Managing Shareholder of BK-Nedvizhimost PLC Pavel Kusnetsov says. According to the data announced by Mr Kusnetsov, Yekaterinburg has nearly 50 operating office centers, and about 15 are under construction. Mr Kusnetsov claimed that at the moment, the main trends of the local office realty market were growth of supply mainly due to construction of new office centers, demand redistribution in favor of specialized office apartments, improvement of existing and projected office centers.

TGK-9 JSC received a possible natural gas supply limitation warning from Gazprom JSC, the company’s spokesperson reports. The supplies haven’t been limited yet, but the company did receive a notification. ‘This is not an emergency since the possibility of such warnings had been included in the contract which says that gas supplies could be limited in case of cold weather. Besides, we have more than enough gas supplies in store,’ the company’s spokesperson said. It was also made clear that even though all this might influence the electricity prime cost (but not its production) the consumers

Ekaterinburgskaya electrosetevaya Kompaniya (Electricity Supplier of Yekaterinburg) JSC has put its networks at full power. Before the weather grew so cold, its load was only 790 megawatt as opposed to current 908 megawatt, the company’s spokesperson reports. The equipment has still been able to withstand the load so far, so there haven’t been any major power cuts. As for local ones, they are being fixed fast enough, and there aren’t any more of them than usual or compared to January 2005.

11 hotels fit for 647 people were introduced in Yekaterinburg in 2005, Hotels of Yekaterinburg Project Coordinator Tatiana Gushchina reported. According to Ms Gushchina, another 6 hotels went through facultative certification, which resulted in Atrium Palace Hotel once again confirming its five-star status, Ural Hotel getting the four stars, and Oktyabrskaya, Hermitage and Taganskya Hotels getting three stars. At the moment, 36 hotels are available in Yekaterinburg, with the average number of clients being three-quarters of their full hosting capacity, Ms Gushchina said. 10 more hotels fit

Within this week, wholesale oil prices have gone up by 5% to 6%. According to data presented by Ural Oil Company (TNK JSC), AI-80 petrol prices have experienced the greatest increase. ‘The company isn’t expecting to have the retail prices go up since the wholesale ones are still growing,’ the spokesperson for Combustive-Lubricating Supplies Sales Department of Ural Oil Company says. The company managers say that this increase in prices is due to shortages on the home market and more petrol being used in cold weather.

NTMK JSC (Metallurgical Industrial Complex of Nizhniy Tagil) generates 50% of its electricity and buys the other half from Sverdlovenergosbyt JSC while fully providing for the heating on one’s own. The arrival of cold weather caused more heat to be produced for internal use as well as for sale as the company’s power station provides electricity for about 30% of Nizhniy Tagil residents. The terms of the contract state that the company’s power station provide their consumers with 200 gigacalories per hour, but now it has to increase this amount to 350 to 360 gigacalories per hour because of the

‘The U.S. Embassy in Russia issued 80,000 visas in 2005, 10,000 having been issued in Yekaterinburg. This can be seen as a slight lagging compared to Saint Petersburg where 15,000 to 20,000 visas were issued. However, the Embassy is hoping to reach the point of 12,500 visas in 2006, which is going to be an unprecedented number for Yekaterinburg,’ Consul General of Moscow Embassy James D. Pettit announced at the press conference on January 18, 2006. ‘We’ve had a lot fewer rejections lately; thus, refusals made up 25% of all visa applications 2.5 years ago but only 17% in 2005,’ Mr Pettit said.

Chelyabenergo JSC is taking extra steps to make sure their electricity networks can still function properly despite the cold weather. According to the company’s spokesperson, the staff have double checked the equipment, particularly the oil-filled items, some of which required extra filling, and are now keeping a close eye on everything. The tanks, driving gears and control cabinets have been checked as well, extra supplies and spare parts have also been provided for. The emergency teams and facilities are available at any moment. All of the company’s divisions are working non-stop to ensure

Ufaleinickel OJSC Board of Directors approved of signing a loan agreement with Commercial Joint-Stock Bank of Moscow OJSC. The loan comprises $15 million and is to be paid off within 1.5 years. Ufaleinickel OJSC proffered to consider its realty and right to part of the company’s profits a guarantee of its meeting the contract liabilities. The transaction makes up 35.47% of the company’s assets.

‘We are not going to do any open-air construction while the weather is so enormously cold. The only thing the company can do is interior decoration in rooms where heating is installed or the temperature is at least 15 below,’ the spokesperson for local construction company Atomstroycomplex CJSC Natalia Basmanova reports. ‘We are currently planning to resume open-air operations when it’s 25 below or up,’ Ms Basmanova says. ‘As for the inevitable setbacks, they will be made up for in February when the company is going to have a three-shift operating regime.’

‘The year 2005 set a new price-soaring record in the field of rented real estate in Yekaterinburg. This is especially true for sections of office space and trade centers,’ Member of Ural Chamber of Real Estate Board and Managing Shareholder of BK-Nedvizhimost PLC Pavel Kusnetsov announced at today’s press conference. According to Mr Kusnetsov, most of the renting contracts concerning trade center sectors stated the price as $60 to $100 per square meter monthly, and contracts concerning office space had it as $25 to $35 in old buildings and $30 to $45 in newly constructed customized office

As the Construction Manager of Nash Dom CJSC Andrey Armyaninov said to UrBC representative commenting on Minister of Construction and Communal Services Alexander Karlov’s remark, ‘It’s hard to say whether there really is a lack of skilled workers among Russian citizens as Mr Karlov believes since our company employs contracting agencies. Still, what we do know is that on the whole, the building business really needs more qualified workforce at the moment.’

Despite bitterly cold weather, no breakups are observed in the way Uralmashzavod is operating. ‘Even now all of our mains are properly functioning though we do have to use up more resources, particularly hot water coming from Sverdlovsk Thermoelectric Power Station,’ the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative. The cold weather also makes it necessary to put gas infrared radiators in mechanoerecting production and gas heated air handling plants in welding engineering in full operation. ‘The water in the radiators is about 80 to 83 degrees at the moment, and the system is working

On average, dwellings cost $1,054 per square meter in December 2005, reported Ural Chamber of Real Estate Analitical Department The prices vary from $1,230 downtown and $1,138 in the southern district near the bus terminal to $1,108 in the southwest area of Yugo-Zapadniy to $1,119 in the western area of VIZ and $1,183 in Parkoviy district, and to $1,156 in Botanika (to the south of the city), $1,083 in Zarechniy area, $1,107 in Vtuzgorodok (to the east of the city), $1,125 in Shartashskiy Market area, $1,098 in ZHBI area, $1,098 in Pionerskiy District, $1,017 in Siniye Kamni, $977 in Uralmash