Russia is confidently regaining the leading position in the world’s coalmining industry, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov told a meeting in Kemerovo devoted to the Miners’ Day marked on Thursday, Itar-Tass reports.
“Today the industry is being upgraded, new mines equipped with state-of-the-art technologies are being built. Coal production reached a record high of 180 tonnes per a working place a month. In the Soviet era we could not even dream of such production output,” he said.
“The restructuring of Russia’s coal industry that will end up by late 2010 will help resettle 17,000 miners’ families from ramshackle and emergency housing. Over the same period around 250 infrastructure facilities of mine cities and villages will be replaced,” he said.
“In the upcoming three years the budget financing of such programs will be increased,” Ivanov said.
The top-ranking official said security guarantees of miners is the government’s key task.
“Miners’ work still remains dangerous and unfortunately, we continue to lose lives. This should not be so. We should do all possible and impossible to protect live of every miner. Security should be our priority and the rest is postprimary,” he said.
Ivanov pointed out that the country’s fuel and energy complex faces serious structural changes.
“In the fuel balance of our power generation the share of nuclear, hydro and coal generation is on the rise. The implementation of these plans is impossible without stronger potential of the coal industry,” he said.
Ivanov handed out state awards to Kuzbass miners and congratulated them on a professional day.