6 august 2012

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev holds a meeting with Governor Aman Tuleyev of the Kemerovo region

Participants:

Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Dmitry Medvedev: Mr Tuleyev, I would first of all like to thank you for your hospitality. I think this was quite a revealing day for most members of the government who are visiting the Kemerovo Region.  

We have a young government, and the ministers are just starting their work in this capacity. I believe it is very important that they had an opportunity today to see miners at work, and to see life in Kuzbass not only through the reference papers they receive on a regular basis (which, I have no doubt, do reflect the real situation in the region). No less important is the meeting that we have just held to discuss the coal industry’s development prospects.

In general the situation is quite difficult, which reflects the overall difficulty of the situation in international finance and economics. However, we have had some very  successful and positive results in recent years. This is reflected in the conversation we have had today with the miners, and in our plans for the development of the coal industry.

We need to combine the resources of the railways and coal companies, the Kuzbass region and the country as a whole, and then we will be able to resolve most of the issues that exist for us. Please go ahead.    

Aman Tuleyev: Thank you Mr Medvedev. You have arrived unexpectedly and at a very difficult time. The company owners here have stated the main problems that are concerning them, including first of all the shipments to the Far East. You have issued clear instructions to the railway companies, and I believe they simply need to fulfill them. We need to ship 12 million tonnes of coal by winter, which is almost three times the normal amount.

With regard to the task that you assigned, Mr Medvedev, to work with gondola cars – we have fulfilled it. We have a total of 12 companies working, and they work very effectively. There are no problems with the cars, everything works well, just as you instructed. 

Also, two years ago you attended a ceremony to launch industrial extraction of methane gas from mines. This is a brand new industry. And I would like to report today that since then we have invested three billion roubles jointly with Gazprom (thanks to you) and have drilled 27 wells. We have also built four mini power plants that produce five megawatts/hour of electric power from working on methane. We use this electricity for our own needs.    

Following another assignment of yours, we have been developing methane deposits at the Kirov mine, which are then used by boiler houses to produce heat and electricity for the mine. In addition, we have received 425,000 euros under the Kyoto Protocol, which we are planning to use to enhance safety at the mine.  

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank God at least someone has received something under the Kyoto Protocol. I am glad that it was the Kuzbass region.

Aman Tuleyev: Yes, that was the only mine that did receive anything. And once again, thank you for visiting the region. I have a request for you regarding the closing of the mines in Prokopyevsk and Kiselyovsk. It is practically impossible to work at these mines. We propose a private-public partnership. There are 13,000 families living there on surfaces damaged by underground operations, and the technical closing of the mines will be done by the company owners.

Finally, regarding the road. Only seven billion roubles are needed there. This is the Kemerovo-Leninsk-Kuznetsk highway. You know this road very well, it will help our workers to get to work faster and will reduce their time spent at work by about an hour.   

Mr Medvedev, your visits have always brought us good fortune. As for Lesnaya Polyana, I would like to report that we have implemented everything that was planned. Thank you.

Dmitry Medvedev: Thank you very much, I am glad to hear that. With regard to Prokopyevsk, indeed, the situation there is very complex, to put it frankly. It can be resolved by creating new jobs and new facilities. We have seen some of them today and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised, as these are facilities  for assembling new technology. To a certain extent, they can use the workforce available in Prokopyevsk. We’ll deal with this issue. 

As for the last theme, I will have to visit Lesnaya some time.

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