Top news Perm Region: Kamabank, RUSNANO, LUKoil

October 5 – October 11, good news

Perm State University has gained a very prestigious status of a National Research Univeristy. Regional programs to support medical professionals has shifted from pilot regime to regular work. Urban planner from Holland put the city administration of Perm in trouble with antimonopoly law. LUKoil is going to launch a new power plant. Learn more in the weekly overview of events by UralPolit.Ru.

Governor’s administration

The head of administration of the governor of Perm Region Maxim Reshetnikov is going to leave Perm after only 6 months at service. Press service of the governor reports that Maxim Reshetnikov will most likely become a department director at the Ministry of Regional Development of Russia. The vacant position in the governor’s office will be temporarily occupied by Yakov Silin.

Perm’s university

Perm State Technical University has become one of 12 Russian higher education establishments with the status of a National Research University. Universities with this status will get 1.8 billion rubles for developmental purposes in 2009-2013. This status is given for the term of 10 years.

Support to surgeons

2000 surgeons of Perm Region have been getting extra pay for work under a regional program of raising the quality of medical services in surgery hospital divisions. The project was fulfilled in a pilot regime during the summer. But now Oleg Chirknov, governor of Perm Region, decided to make it a permanently working program.

Antimonopoly service concerns

The federal antimonopoly service in Perm Region started investigation of the deal between the administration of Perm and its partners from Holland, Architects and Planners Bureau KCAP, who are doing urban planning for the city. Antimonopoly service suspects breach of law because the city administration did not announce an open competition to find contractor.

Hearing of the case will take place at the end of October. Administration of Perm reports that the proceedings will not influence relations with the partners from the Netherlands.

Banking

The change of shareholders of Kamabank OJSC, one of Perm’s regional leading banks, became the most important economic news of the week. Commercial bank Eastern Express employees became the new shareholders. Eastern Express Bank’s headquarters are located in Blagoveschensk, Far East. The bank is enlarging its network in the regions of Russia through mergers with regional banks.

Nanotechnology

The 2^nd International Forum on Nanotechnologies took place in Moscow on October 6, 2009. Perm Region and the governmental corporation RUSNANO signed a cooperation agreement for 2009-2015. The document was signed by governor Oleg Chirkunov and general director of RUSNANO Anatoly Chubais. The agreement is “to create conditions for advanced innovative development of Perm Region as being one of the economically strong regions of Russia possessing a considerable potential for the development of nano-industry”.

Gas sector

LUKoil-Perm LLC completed the construction of the first microturbine electric power station in Perm Region. The power station’s capacity is to process about 400 thousand cubic meters of oil gas a year.

Two Capstone microturbines with the total capacity of 130 kW have been installed at the station. Test trials of the equipment are currently in process. Industrial exploitation will start in 2010. The new power station will allow to increase the level of oil gas utilization and to reduce energy consumption of the system, chief engineer of LUKoil-Perm declares.