Speaking to the workers of the Proletarsky Zavod plant, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said that a blocking stake in the enterprise will be transferred from the Eastern European Corporation to the United Shipbuilding Corporation.

“An agreement was reached yesterday that this blocking stake will be handed over to the state-run United Shipbuilding Corporation,” Putin said, adding that this was just the beginning of a long reform process at the facility. “Just a moment ago, I spoke with the head of the Deposits Insurance Agency, which is a major holder of credit funds. The next step will be as follows – the United Shipbuilding Corporation will sign a transaction agreement with the agency, which is carrying the burden of the corporation's debts, and the bankruptcy procedure will be suspended. The agency’s head told me that the case should be closed by December 7.”

There are also other measures to take, the prime minister said.

“The United Shipbuilding Corporation should undertake to provide guarantees for the repayment of those loans, as well as to offer a plan of further actions to modernise the plant and pull it out of the crisis,” he explained, adding that the corporation will have to contribute another billion roubles worth of contracts to the contract portfolio and that “agreements to that effect have already been reached in principle.”

According to Putin, there are other enterprises in the sector that are also going through hard times.

“The United Shipbuilding Company just entered the Baltiysky Zavod plant, and it, too, is facing problems related to the industrial chain,” he said. “Some of your debt arrears also arise from non-payments by associated companies, notably by the Baltiysky Zavod plant. Yet, Dmitry Kozak (Deputy Prime Minister) has managed to make appropriate arrangements there, so, hopefully, we’ll eventually manage to reinvigorate the sector.”

“You have a good enterprise and a remarkable team, one with good traditions,” Putin said after touring the plant. “The proprietors deserve credit for having managed to avoid wage arrears despite all of their legal and fiscal problems. I’m pleased that we’ve reached a consensus after all and that we’ve accomplished this without too much stress. Now we need to get down to the practical work.”