On 5 December 2013 Uralkali (the “Company”; LSE: URKA) signed an agreement with the Government of the Perm Region and the Administration of the town of Berezniki providing for the financing, from 2013 to 2015, of the relocation of people living in uninhabitable housing facilities in Berezniki, including the construction of new infrastructure facilities and demolition of uninhabitable housing facilities.
In the agreement, the Company undertook to pay to the Perm Region and the town of Berezniki a total of RUB 2,539,684,100 (approx. USD 76.7 million), payable in installments by 1 August 2015. This amount includes approximately RUB 300 million that was paid by Uralkali in July 2013. A similar amount will be paid to Berezniki from the budget of the Perm Territory.
The agreement will be effected pursuant to the state programme on “Securing of quality housing and facilities for the citizens of the Perm Region” and is in line with the decisions adopted by the Governmental Commission on Prevention of the Impact of the Flooding of the Berezniki-1 mine of the Verkhnekamskoye potassium and magnesium field (Berezniki, Perm Region).
Viktor Belyakov, acting CEO of JSC Uralkali, said:
The signing of the agreement with the Government of the Perm Territory and the Administration of the Town of Berezniki is an important step in development of housing construction in the town where the majority of Uralkali employees were born, grown up and are living. The town will receive over RUB 5 billion by 25 December 2013. I am sure that these funds will enhance the housing in the town and give a new impulse to the development of Berezniki.
On 25 November 2013 Uralkali presented a master plan for the development of the Berezniki-Solikamsk agglomeration. The master plan, which was prepared by German architects, was among the first such plans in Russia. The development plan “Kama triad” contemplates the creation of a new modern model of urban development and the preservation of the distinct historical and architectural character of the towns of Berezniki, Solikamsk and Usolye.
Uralkali (www.uralkali.com) is one of the world’s largest potash producers with a share of about 20% in global potash production. The Company’s assets consist of 5 mines and 7 ore-treatment mills situated in the towns of Berezniki and Solikamsk (Perm Region, Russia). Uralkali employs ca.11,800 people (in the main production unit). Uralkali’s shares and GDRs are traded on the Moscow Exchange and LSE, respectively.
