The Russian steel producer Chusovoy Steel Works (Chusovoy), a subsidiary of United Metallurgical Company (OMK), has presented the new reconstruction project for its steelmaking and rolling facilities to the administration of the Russian Perm region within the scope of the federal program aimed at supporting ‘mono-cities'. Mono-cities in Russia are settlements where about 25 percent of the economically active population work at the companies in the same sector.
Within the framework of this project, Chusovoy plans a large-scale modernization of its production facilities, including the construction of a new electro-smelting shop with a capacity of 850,000-900,000 mt of continuous cast billet, and also plans the construction of a new rolling mill with a capacity of 700,000 mt of finished products per year.
According to Chusovoy CEO Anatoly Karpov, the construction of the new complex will allow the company to reduce the prime cost of its rolled products by Ruble 5,900/mt (about $200/mt), to increase the production capacities of its rolling facilities, to improve the quality of its products and to reduce the environmental impact.
At the end of the last year, the Russian government approved a list of 27 mono-cities, including the Chusovoy-based city of Perm Krai, which in 2010 may receive state support under a federal program. Chusovoy city must prepare a comprehensive and innovative plan for its development, and after an examination may be included in the federal program. The state plans to invest Ruble 10 billion (about $340 million) in the support of mono-cities in the form of budgetary subsidies and another Ruble 10 billion in three-year loans.