OREANDA-NEWS. November 12, 2007. The Government of the Russian Federation and the Bank for Development plan to complete in the first half of 2008 the selection of investment projects to build new shipyards. Russian Industry and Energy Minister Victor Khristenko told journalists about it. According to the Minister, a tender for new shipyards projects has already been announced in the Far East, the North and the Northwest, These projects are to be carried out within private-public partnership with the use of the Investment Fund’s money. According to Khristenko, the state could assume responsibility for building infrastructure for new shipyards.

V. Khristnko said that at present Russian shipyards are not in a position to build ships of more than 70-80 tons’ displacement. New shipyards should give top priority to building ice-reinforced ships of 140-160 tons’ displacement to operate in the Baltic Sea as well as northern and far eastern seas. The Minister added that in order to operate new production facilities they plan to involve world –class partners for them to introduce new technologies into these projects. The Industry and Energy Minister said that it would take 2.5-3 years to implement projects to build new shipyards and that it would take from 12 to 36 months to build new platforms.

V. Khristenko said that in accordance with today’s decision taken by the Russian Government, the Bank for Development is to become one of the participants in selecting and preparing new shipyards investment projects. Moreover, the Bank for Development would be involved in making arrangements for leasing ships.

The Minister said that in the period till 2015 the domestic market demand for hydrocarbons prospecting and production platforms is 30-35 pieces. Furthermore, we’ll need to build auxiliary fleet to service these platforms.

V. Khristenko added that in the period till 2012, a backlog of orders in world shipyards had already been formed and Russian new shipyards would not aim to redistribute the orders. “Our task is to fit into the next stage’, said the Industry and Energy Minister.