Raspadskaya coal mine restoration costs reach 10 billion roubles.
The cost of rebuilding the Raspadskaya coal mine in the Kemerovo Region is growing by the minute. The mine was severely damaged by several methane blasts in May. While two weeks ago the estimate was 6 billion roubles, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin put the figure at 10 billion roubles yesterday. The mine's owners will have to shoulder the bulk of the expenses, while the government has promised to help by providing loans and tax breaks.
The restoration of the Raspadskaya coal mine will require 10 billion roubles, Putin said at a meeting with miners in Novokuznetsk.
"This is a great burden on shareholders, on owners," he said. "They will have to pay this money out of their pockets. If they need help, I repeat, we will lend a hand. But they must state clearly what they need." Putin added that the government is ready "to offer loans, good loans" to the owners of Raspadskaya.
He also said exemption from customs duties, taxes and levies on the purchase of safety equipment may be considered. At the same time, he demanded that coal company owners boost their spending on safety.
First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said on the same day that the Raspadskaya owners will receive federal assistance to overhaul the mine's power supply system. He noted that the plan had already been agreed upon with the Finance Ministry. The ministry was unavailable for comment.
The figure the prime minister named may still be adjusted. The Raspadskaya restoration costs were estimated at 6 billion roubles earlier this month.
"It is difficult to name the precise amount at this stage," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Nobody knows how big the internal damage is because it is still ablaze." No restoration plans can be made at this point for the same reason, he added. The issue was not discussed in Novokuznetsk.
However, Putin said in Novokuznetsk that restoration will not begin until the relief work is completed. Raspadskaya said a draft relief and gradual restoration plan was being discussed in mid-June with the agencies concerned, the Kemerovo Region government and mining professionals.
The company also said it would channel its own funds into the restoration works and is considering raising loans for this purpose. However, company sources did not disclose the details of the restoration plan. Meanwhile, Putin said the Raspadskaya owners have not yet applied for government support.
Other issues discussed in Novokuznetsk included a proposal to increase the permanent component of miners' wages to 70%.
"I was promised that the work on the industrial agreement would be ready in early July", Putin said.
The prime minister added that he planned to authorise Rostekhnadzor, Russia's industrial safety watchdog, to suspend mine operation. He also proposed increasing mine management responsibility for safety issues.
To do so, a new law on civil responsibility insurance will have to be passed, which must create conditions so that it will just make sense for mine owners "to invest in real safety and not safety on paper", Putin said.
A relevant bill has already been brought before the State Duma.
Galina Kamneva
