OREANDA-NEWS. November 9, 2007.The State Duma has approved the second reading of the bill on the establishment of Rosatom state corporation.

The bill stipulates the establishment of a state corporation, which is supposed to replace the Federal Agency for Nuclear Energy, to unite the civil and military sectors of the nuclear industry and to ensure its stable work.

The Corporation will comprise Atomenergoprom holding and the federal state unitary enterprises owned by the Federal Agency for Nuclear Energy, i.e. the nuclear weapons complex, research institutes and nuclear and radiation safety agencies.

The bill is supposed to ensure the execution of the federal target program for the development of the nuclear power industry of Russia in 2007–2015.

The establishment of the Corporation is supposed to help to the Government to implement long-term programs for developing the nuclear industry and to effectively manage resources provided to the sector, including budgetary funds.

The Corporation is authorized to act on behalf of the Government, particularly, to manage the nuclear sector, to guarantee the safe use of nuclear energy, to protect state secret and other confidential information, to control the state reserve of special and fissile materials, to ensure the fulfillment of state contracts in the sphere of defense and to cooperate with foreign countries in the field of use of nuclear energy. The Corporation will have special reserve funds for ensuring the safety of radiation and nuclear hazardous productions throughout their life cycles. It will own government stakes in nuclear open joint stock companies and other state property.

The Corporation will be given ownership over the property of Atomenergoprom JSC and the property of the federal state unitary enterprises that are presently subordinate to the Federal Agency for Nuclear Energy (Rosatom). It will have authority to implement federal target programs, to fulfill state contracts in the sphere of defense and to carry out international agreements.

The Corporation will be managed by a council of observers, director general and a board of directors. The council of observers will consist of the director general and nine officials representing the President and the Government. The members and the chairman of the council will be appointed by the President. The Corporation will also have a scientific-technical council, which will act as an advisor to the director general.

The bill stipulates that the Corporation should annually report to the Government on its work. The adoption of the law is expected to enhance the competitiveness of the civil nuclear industry and to ensure the stable work of the military sector.

Earlier, the head of Rosatom Sergey Kiriyenko said that the Corporation will be established in the first quarter of 2008.

The vice speaker of State Duma Vladimir Katrenko believes that Rosatom state corporation will ensure united control over all subordinate organizations and will help to more effectively coordinate the activities of the nuclear industry in the fields of fundamental science, nuclear weapons production, nuclear safety and long-term development.

Katrenko points out that the new model of management will promote research and development in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy. “Rosatom state corporation will certainly help us to strengthen our positions on the world market,” says Katrenko.