You're reading: Ukrainian bank and Russian Aluminum join efforts to build plant near Kharkiv

KYIV, Apr. 11 (Ukrainian News) – Ukrsibbank and the Russian Aluminum concern plan to build a plant for annual production of 120,000-180,000 tons of primary aluminum in Pervomaisk, Kharkiv region, the bank’s press service said Wednesday.

According to the press service, the decision to construct the plant was made during a meeting between Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma, Ukrsibbank’s President Oleksandr Yaroslavsky and the Russian Aluminum concern’s head Oleg Deripaska.

Both Ukrsibbank and Russian Aluminum, among Russia’s largest aluminum producers, will share in paying the estimated $250 million needed to build the proposed plant.

The press service also said specialists have concluded that the best place to build the plant is on the premises of the Pervomaisk steel rolling and pressing plant.

The project’s design has already begun, while construction work is expected to start in 2002 and end by 2005.

Five thousand jobs are expected to be created when the plant begins operating.

Russian Aluminum and Ukrsibbank jointly control the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant through the Ukrainian Aluminum company.

Construction of an aluminum plant was one of the obligations that Ukrainian Aluminum undertook when it acquired a 30 percent share in MAP.

Ukrsibbank, which is classified as a major bank in Ukraine, reported a profit of Hr 7.42 million last year. Its profits amounted to Hr 5.97 million as of early March this year.