Bill Creates State Road Firm
The State Duma on Friday passed in a third reading a bill creating a state company to run federal roads and nearby property, giving it the authority to rent out roadside land.
Avtodor will be responsible for the building, reconstruction, planning and maintenance of major roads using federal budget funds and private investments, as well as through the creation of the country's first toll roads, according to the bill.
It will oversee 18,300 kilometers of road, including 6,100 kilometers of highway that it will build. The company will also be able to give permission to build new roads in areas under its jurisdiction and for placing advertisements. (MT)
Belarus Seeks EU Free Trade
MINSK -- Belarus wants to create a free-trade zone with the European Union within three to four years, First Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko said Friday.
Semashko, addressing the parliament, also forecast difficulties in securing World Trade Organization membership jointly for Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, which he said would take 10 to 12 years.(Reuters)
Sandstorms Delay Contracts
Iraq on Sunday delayed by one day its first awarding of oil contracts to foreign companies in more than three decades as sandstorms forced the Baghdad airport's closure.
The contract awards, scheduled to last two days, will begin Tuesday, Oil Ministry spokesman Asim Jihad said after the storm prevented representatives from arriving. International firms, including LUKoil, are vying for the right to help Iraq develop six oilfields and two gas deposits.(Bloomberg)
$1.2Bln for Namibia Project
A power-station construction project in Namibia for which Gazprombank agreed to organize financing is valued at as much as $1.2 billion, Boris Ivanov, head of Gazprom International, told reporters in the Angolan capital Luanda on Friday.
Ivanov said the plant would have a capacity of 800 megawatts, of which Namibia will take 300 megawatts. Talks on selling the remaining power to South Africa are at an "advanced stage," Ivanov said.(Bloomberg)
Duty-Free Restrictions Plan
The Federal Customs service plans to cut the amount of duty-free goods travelers can bring back into Russia, in a bid to boost sales by local producers, Kommersant reported Friday.
The service is planning to lower the limit of the value of goods that can be brought into the country tax free to 20,000 rubles ($640) from 65,000 rubles, the report said, citing customs service documents.(Bloomberg)
For the Record
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told the government Friday to increase VEB's capital by 100 billion rubles ($3.2 billion), Interfax reported.(Bloomberg)
Russian Standard bank said Friday that it bought back $120 million of its $840.8 million in outstanding eurobonds.(Reuters)
United Company RusAl sees 2009 prices for the metal at between $1,300 to $1,500 per ton, the head of its aluminum division, Alexei Arnautov, said in a company newsletter.(Reuters)
()
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.