August 21, 2013. Laos sent a note of support to the BIE selection board to support Yekaterinburg’s application for the right to host the international exhibition EXPO 2020, Laos Planning & Investment Minister said at a meeting with Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Evgeny Kuivashev, the region’s government’s press service reports. A copy of this diplomatic statement was handed over to the Governor; later on, the paper will be forwarded to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was also announced during the meeting that Laos Government is planning to join the 9th International Arms &

August 21, 2013. A professional skills contest aimed at selecting the best foreman was held at Seversky Pipe Plant (STZ, a member of Pipe Metallurgical Company), the company’s press service reports. 15 foremen and senior foremen from STZ departments (all of them in the under-35 age group) took part in the competition. The main idea behind the contest was to find young leaders with great managerial skills and to encourage the employees to boost their self-development and improve their managerial performance. A written test is one of the important stages of the contest. This year, there were

August 21, 2013. 505,400 sq m of housing was commissioned in Sverdlovsk Region in January-July 2013. According to the official data from Sverdlovskstat, this is 11.9% more than in the seven months of 2012, 23.4% less than in June 2013, and 28.2% more than in July 2012.

August 21, 2013. Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor carried out a scheduled inspection of EVRAZ KGOK and detected 20 violations of the sanitary and epidemiological wellbeing requirements, the spokesperson for the division reports. For one, EVRAZ KGOK does not provide the necessary working conditions for its employees, and the dust and pollutants content in the air inside the production zones does not meet the existing hygienic requirements. The company also lacks a full list of the raw materials it uses with the corresponding documentation to accompany it; nor does it have the

August 20, 2013. Platinum production doubled in Sverdlovsk Region in the first half of 2013 and amounted to 54.28kg. A year earlier, 27.57kg of this precious metal were produced, Sverdlovsk Region Government’s press service refers to Chairman of the Union of the Urals’s Gold Industry Entrepreneurs Alexander Yastrebkov as saying. The gold output figures rose by 6% as well, from 2,934.4 kilos to 3,119 kilos.

August 20, 2013. Yekaterinburg dwellers could recently enjoy the beauty of 3D installations presented by the participants of the Color Festival on August 16, on the eve of Town Day. The spokesperson for Yekaterinburg Council reports that the show, based on the technology aimed for creating a 3D video image on a multi-angle surface, took place in Historic Square. This central spot was totally transformed once it got dark. ‘Visitors to Plotinka saw some experimenting with the volume and geometry, with the changing urban landscape transformed in the twilight,’ the spokesperson says.

August 20, 2013. Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant’s produce – ceramic flux (a powder used in the welding process) was certified by the National Welding Control Agency. By now, the Agency issued four certificates to confirm four varieties of ceramic flux - UF-N, UF-01, UF-02, and UF-03. Now ChTPZ Group has been producing ceramic flux since 2004; the second extension of the Ceramic flux project was launched in 2012, so the production capacity doubled and came to 14,000 tons a year; the launch of this new line made ChTPZ one of Russia and Europe’s largest ceramics producers. At the same time,

August 20, 2013. UC RUSAL signed an agreement with IES Holding to buy Bogoslovskaya Power Station in Krasnoturyinsk, Sverdlovsk Region. The company’s press service reports that buying the station will ensure the stable alumina production at Bogoslovsky smelter. The acquisition will also mean that the alumina prime cost will go down for this enterprise and that the produce will therefore become more competitive. All the jobs will be retained at the alumina facility in Krasnoturyinsk. Bogoslovskaya Power Station, with projected generating capacity of 135.5 megawatts will become a part of UC

August 20, 2013. Ural Airlines is planning to add six more Airbus planes to its fleet of vehicles in 2014, RIA Novosti refers to the company’s Director-General Sergey Skuratov as saying. ‘So far, we have signed contracts for 4 Airbus 319 ones,’ Skuratov said. He added that two more airplanes would also be from the Airbus family and will be either Airbus 321 ones or Airbus A320 ones. Skuratov said that in 2014, the airline will probably settle down with one particular type of a wide-bodied aircraft that it will be operating in the future. For now, Ural Airlines are putting up a large hangar

August 19, 2013. As of August 1, 2013, the total arrears of wages among businesses outside the SME sector was 2.526bn RUR, which was 11m RUR, or 0.4% more than on July 1, 2013, Rosstat (the Federal State Statistics Service) reports. The arrears of wages grew by 1.6 times or 63% since the beginning of the year (the figure stood at 1.56bn RUR on January 1, 2013). As for Ural Federal District, the arrears of wages here amounted to 11.5m RUR as of August 1, 2013. This is 7.4% more than a month earlier. Sverdlovsk Region currently owns 1.2m RUR to the locally employed workers, which is up 7.7% on

August 19, 2013. Ural Airlines and Koltsovo Airport held a solemn reception for the aviation industry workers at the Hyatt Hotel in Yekaterinburg to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Ural aviation industry, the airline’s press service reports. The reception was attended by Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Evgeny Kuivashev, who awarded honorary certificates of Sverdlovsk Region Government to heads of aviation enterprises: Ural Airlines Director-General Sergey Skuratov, Ural Airlines Production Director Vladimir Chikilev, Koltsovo Airport Director-General Evgeny Chudnovsky and Koltsovo Airport

August 19, 2013. The volume of investments in the capital assets of Sverdlovsk Region-based enterprises came to 116.7bn RUR in January-June 2013, which is 3.1% more than a year earlier, the region’s Economics Ministry’s press service reports. According to the statistical data provided by the ministry, 77.2% of all the investments (90bn RUR) was directed to Sverdlovsk Region-based enterprises that are not SMEs. About a half of this money (48.5% or 43.6bn RUR) is aimed for industrial development and 17.8% or 16bn RUR is aimed for transport and telecommunications development. The social sector

August 19, 2013. The solemn opening ceremony took place at a new school in Academic District of Yekaterinburg on August 16. This is the second secondary school to be set up in this district. School 19 is fit for 875 schoolchildren per shift, and 150 first-graders will be welcomed there on September 1, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region’s Information Policies Department reports. The school happens to be one of the most spacious in Sverdlovsk Region: its area comes to more than 16,000 square meters. The school has got large recreation areas, a conference all with 520 seats, two gyms, a swimming

August 19, 2013. It has been determined that the amount of revenues coming into the Russian Federation consolidated budget from Sverdlovsk Region increased by 3.4% or 4.441.7m RUR in the seven months of 2013, Sverdlovsk Region division of the Federal Tax Service’s press service reports. In terms of what economic sectors the revenues came from, the amount of tax paid by the processing industries rose by 17.4% or 6,482.6m RUR, that paid by the electricity, natural gas, and water producers and distributors went up by 22.2% or 1,841m RUR, that paid by the companies dealing in real estate, rent,

August 16, 2013. Over 1,500 residents of Academic District of Yekaterinburg are already enjoying the benefits of a co-branded project called Academic District Resident's Card, METCOMBANK's press service reports. 'We offer a card to everyone who buys an apartment in Academic District; our clerks will tell you about all the benefits you can enjoy with this card right in the office of Academic Management Company,' says METCOMBANK Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board Nina Batalova. The card will be handy for all those moving house: among the thirty brands that joined the

August 16, 2013. A hotel was opened at Vysotsky Business Center in Yekaterinburg today. The hotel is located on the 37th, 38th, and 39th floors of the skyscraper. There are 73 single and double rooms of standard and premium class in this hotel. The hotel staff say the interior is done in the classical, barocco-like style. This is an upmarket hotel as far as prices go: these vary from 5,700 to 15,000 RUR a day, depending on the room category. This is now the city's third hotel that aspires to be classed as a five-star one. The symbolic red-ribbon-cutting ceremony was performed by Mayor of

August 16, 2013. According to the data as of August 12, 2013, the average price of a square meter of housing on the existing home market in Yekaterinburg is 70,899 RUR, the Ural Chamber of Real Estate's analytical report states. The analysts say the market has been going up slightly by about 0.1% a week over the last two months. Given that prices tended to drop in the first half of the year, a change in the median figure has only been +1.1% since the start of the year. 'Nevertheless, the come-back of the upward trend does not necessarily mean a return of the stable price growth

August 16, 2013. Ural Airlines and Koltsovo Airport of Yekaterinburg coordinated a special event last Wednesday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the aviation industry in the Urals. Ural Airlines and Koltsovo Airport's long-service employees, who contributed to the launch of the aviation sector here, were invited to the solemn ceremony in Aviators Palace of Culture at the village of Koltsovo, the airline's press service reports. The invitees entered the beautifully decorated concert hall to the songs about the sky and airplanes. The welcoming speech was given by Koltsovo Airport

August 16, 2013. In the first half of 2013, over 50% of local banks (62 out of 100) reduced the interest rates they offer on deposits. 17 banks, however, increased their rates, and 21 banks left their offers the same. As it happens, the decrease in the deposit rates offered mainly took place in the second quarter of the year, Deposit Insurance Agency State Corporation's review states. The interest rates on deposits under 700,000 RUR dropped by 0.6% on average and came to 7.9% a year as of July 1, 2013. The interest rates on deposits over 700,000 RUR declined by 0.4% on average and

August 15, 2013. The United Migration Center uploaded an order for the construction of a deportation center for illegal migrants on the government purchases website. Under the terms of this order, the Center is planning to use a building in the village of Koltsovo located at 15/4 Gornistov St. 44.295m RUR has been allocated for the reconstruction of the building. The deportation center layout will provide for rooms fit for two, three, and four people; in addition, there is going to be a disinfection chamber and a health unit. What is more, the building will have a room for three-, four- and