IZHEVSK. March 26 (Interfax-AVN) - The government of Russia's inland republic of Udmurtia has refused to build a complex for dismantling solid-fuel rocket engines outside the town of Votkinsk.
Udmurtia's Prime Minister Yuri Pitkevich announced this decision back on March 1, and the official document was adopted on Tuesday, the republic's presidential and government press service has told Interfax.
Pitkevich said that the decision not to build the complex will not cause the Votkinsk Machine-Building Plant, the main manufacturer of Topol-M missiles, to lose its state order.
In addition, the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, the customer of the complex, and corresponding federal bodies have been informed about the refusal. The agency's administration is considering possibilities of building the complex in other Russian regions, Pitkevich said.
The decision to erect the facility in Votkinsk was made by the Russian government on December 29, 1997. However a referendum was held in the city on January 17, 1999, and 94.6 percent of those who came to the polls voted against the construction. A bit over 50 percent of locals cast their vote.
The investment project of the plant's construction is the largest in the republic, its value is estimated at USD100m-150m. The Energotec company of the United States is the contractor. Energotec took over the contract after the Lockheed Martin corporation declined to participate in the project.
The facility was expected to destroy 916 rockets most of which had been made in Votkinsk. The original plan scheduled the completion of the work for December 2003. Some 300 to 800 jobs were to be created at the enterprise.
A plot of land was allotted for the facility, and construction of roads and communications began. However the republic's authorities failed to elaborate their position in the issue, and the construction was suspended until spring 2002.
The Votkinsk plant produces Topol and Topol-M missile systems, as well as the Start and Start-1 launch vehicles.