NIZHNY TAGIL, Middle Ural, July 5 (AVN) - The Industry Ministry of the Sverdlovsk region celebrated its day under the auspices of the Russian Defence Expo (RUDEX) 2001 show on Thursday.
The region has 55 defence industry enterprises, minister Semyon Barkov told a news conference devoted to the role of the Middle Ural defence industry in the country's economy. The enterprises specialise in development of armoured vehicles, ammunition production, instrument engineering, nuclear and chemical technologies, etc.
According to Barkov, radical measures have been taken in the past few years to preserve the enterprises' production potential in the conditions of conversion. Sverdlovsk Region Governor Eduard Rossel helped draft a purpose-oriented programme that helped preserve the region's defence industry. A RUR350m (USD12m) credit helped the enterprises master manufacturing of about 330 types of products. The conversion programme covered 13 strategic spheres, including medicine, agriculture, construction, etc., and tasks were reached in each field.
"If the conversion programme had not been implemented, the Sverdlovsk region's defence industry would have perished," Barkov said. However the industry still faces problems and the major of them is old equipment, which is 50 to 60 percent worn out. The second problem is the state's debts to enterprises for earlier implemented works under the auspices of the defence order. The debts exceed RUR1bn (USD34.26m).
The third problem is that the state does not finance maintenance of facilities subject to mobilisation, Barkov went on. Budget allocations only make three to four percent of the required sum, he stressed.
According to the minister, Russian Defence Expo 2001 is a unique exhibition, and efficiency of such shows is growing each year. "In 1998 the arms export grew 25 percent and in 2000 40 percent in comparison with 1999," he stressed.
Barkov was followed at the news conference by Director General of the Ural instrument engineering plant Vladimir Godlevsky, Director General of the Novator design bureau Leonid Ponomaryov and Chief Engineer of the Uralvagonzavod production enterprise Vladislav Andronov, who spoke about positive tendencies in the production of household products under the auspices of the conversion programme.