OREANDA-NEWS. March 10, 2011. The agricultural division of Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element Holding (BasEl), which was formed following the transfer of Russko-Asiatic Investment company (RAINKO) to BasEl, plans to start up the first section of LLC  Kuban Soy Concentrate in the third quarter of 2012, the head of BasEl's agro division, Andrei Oleinik, told Interfax.

He said that the enterprise will be able to process 40,000 tonnes of soybeans. Deep processing equipment from Israeli firm Hayes General Technology Co. will be installed. The contract value for this equipment comes to USD 1.92 million while the plant's total value is estimated at over USD 50 million.

Oleinik said that plant's first stage will produce functional soy concentrate, which is largely used in feed and food production as a vegetable protein. "If all goes well, we plan to move to deeper processing at the second stage with bio and nanotechnologies. Raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry will be produced," he said.

BasEl's agro division plans to boost total soy cultivation in order to expand its raw materials base for the new enterprise. This includes the introduction of new land plots, as well as boosting crop yields for soy and its protein content. "We are carrying out selection work with the leading Russian institutions in this area," said Oleinik.

Oleinik said that the new facility will have equipment manufactured by Britain's Europa Crown, Anhidro, Israel's Hayes General Technology and Pash Taas, U.S. companies Wenger and Vincent, and German firms Altenburger and Man Diesel.

He added that the Kuban agriculture holding plans to sign an agreement with Israeli company Afikim for the supply of equipment for its dairy operations. "The documents are in processing, the value of the contracts is being settled," Oleinik said, adding that contract signing could take place in April of this year. The equipment will be set up at three dairy farms, which will help ensure constant monitoring of livestock health, he said.

BasEl's agro-business is concentrated in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow regions.