Zvezda Shipyard Expansion Among Russia's Top Construction Projects

The expansion of the Zvezda shipyard in Russia's Far East is one of the most important construction projects in the country as it will enable the realization of the country's Arctic development plans, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Wednesday.

VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik) — He added that the main task is to create the largest shipyard in the region and, in particular, build liquefied natural gas (LNG) Arctic-class carriers.

"The general impression is that construction has commenced at full scale, it is large and grandiose. As the commission board members have just returned from the Baikonur space center, it is possible to compare these two, I would say, major construction projects, which are both aimed at laying down the new technical foundation for two major sectors — the missile industry and shipbuilding," Rogozin said during his visit to the Zvezda shipyard in the country's town of Bolshoy Kamen.

"This is [to be done] so that we no longer have to withdraw significant funds from our country that were previously going to Korean and other shipyards. So, today we see some kind of a shift which is associated with the exploration of the shelf and… which will allow for the great plans [Russia has] for the Arctic to be implemented," Rogozin said.

On June 9, Rogozin said that Russia is going to invest 1.35 billion rubles ($21 million) in promising Arctic Shelf projects as a part of the state program "Development of Shipbuilding and Machinery to Develop Shelf Fields." He also announced that Russia is going to start constructing ships for the development of the Arctic Shelf at the Zvezda shipyard by the end of the year.