In the Leningrad region, PhosAgro’s largest investment project for the construction of a new millionth plant for the production of mineral fertilizers in Volkhov is nearing completion. It will allow to increase the annual output at the local enterprise of the company by 4 times, will give hundreds of new jobs and significantly increase tax revenues to the budget of the region. The updated site of the Volkhov Industrial Complex has already been highly appreciated by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.
Big goals – high scores
The leading producer of phosphorus-containing fertilizers in Russia, and one of the world leaders in this segment, PhosAgro is actively investing in the Leningrad region. In 2012, it included an old chemical plant in Volkhov, which at that time was in an extremely deplorable state. For 10 years, the company has changed beyond recognition, and today the Volkhov branch of JSC Apatit is one of the industry leaders, the largest employer and a reliable partner of the district administration in the implementation of social projects.
In March 2019, PhosAgro announced new investments in local production in the amount of about 34 billion rubles. In fact, with these funds, a new modern millionaire factory was built on the basis of the Volkhov complex. It will produce 4 times more products than before the start of the investment project (mineral fertilizers – more than 880 thousand tons per year), and process 4 times more apatite concentrate (up to 1.3 million tons per year). The volume of tax revenues will also increase: by 2027, the regional budget will receive more than 7 billion rubles.
The output of new production facilities to full capacity is scheduled for 2023 – most of the investment project has already been implemented. The production of mineral fertilizers, phosphoric and sulfuric acid has been modernized, new energy facilities have been built to provide the enterprise with electricity of its own generation.
Photo: Provided by the organizers/ Timur Rumyantsev
On the eve of the updated production complex was visited by Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Murat Kerefov. The federal government’s interest in this site is connected, among other things, with the fact that PhosAgro’s investment project for the development of the Volkov branch of Apatit JSC became one of the first in Russia to be implemented under the agreement on the protection and promotion of capital investments (NWPC). This agreement was signed in 2020 between the leadership of PhosAgro, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the government of the Leningrad Region.
According to Murat Kerefov, the NWPC is one of the basic mechanisms for stimulating investment activity. This agreement guarantees the campaigns the immutability of tax conditions for a long time: up to 20 years. In addition, it guarantees reimbursement of the costs of the infrastructure built by the investor due to new taxes that the company will pay.
PhosAgro is one of the companies that signed the agreement back in 2020. The main stages of the project have already been implemented or are close to completion, we see an example of modern high-tech production. The company is developing dynamically, provides high employment, which is especially important for the municipality, for the region. Impressions are positive. When you look at the project on paper, you see dry figures. When you come to the enterprise, you see, first of all, the team that implements the project. Today I saw a team capable of solving more complex tasks,” Murat Kerefov said during a visit to the Volkhov branch.
Yegor Meshcheryakov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Economic Development and Investment Activities of the Leningrad Region, also noted that the company copes with its tasks perfectly. “There are not so many such large projects in the region, it is very important for the region. Special thanks to the company for the fact that in 2020 they decided to become pilots for the conclusion of an agreement on the protection and promotion of investments. We are going through this responsible path together and will continue to implement this tool further,” the representative of the Leningrad Region government said at the meeting.
Efficiency and environmental friendliness
Thanks to the renovation carried out at the enterprise, the annual production of phosphoric acid increased to 500 tons, sulfuric acid – to 1.1 million tons, mineral fertilizers – exceeded 880 thousand tons. New energy facilities have been erected – a complex for recycling waste technological steam and providing the enterprise with 85% of its own generation of electricity. Now the final stage is underway within the framework of the investment project – a site for the production of water-soluble mineral fertilizers with a capacity of 43.5 thousand tons per year is being completed. It is expected that these products will be in particular demand among farmers in areas with difficult, arid climatic conditions and greenhouse farms.
“Mineral fertilizers are recognized all over the world as a strategic product, because only thanks to them it is possible to provide people with affordable and high-quality food. The need for them is only growing every year, there is a high demand all over the world. We are focused primarily on our farmers, the Russian market has always been and remains an absolute priority of PhosAgro. Purchases from Russian farmers are growing, and we, for our part, are ready to provide them in full,” Alexey Ikonnikov, director of the Volkhov branch of Apatit JSC, told AIF.
According to Konstantin Kiselyov, Chief engineer of the Volkhov branch of Apatit JSC, modernization has allowed us to move to a completely new level of production. “The new technology makes it possible to produce fertilizer brands with a high content of nitrogen and phosphorus, which, when applied by farmers to the ground, has a more prolonged effect on nutrients. It is also important that new technologies are much cleaner and more environmentally friendly in terms of environmental impact. For example, the degree of gas purification now reaches the level of 99% and higher,” the engineer said.
By the way, it was the Volkhov enterprise PhosAgro that opened in 2020 the first stationary post of continuous automatic monitoring of atmospheric air in the Leningrad region. In the summer of this year, a second eco-post appeared in Volkhov: now it is possible to assess the state of the environment in the complex in the city.
Social investments
The PhosAgro investment project gave Volkhov 300 new jobs plus the thousand already available at the local enterprise. The company offers employees a competitive salary and various social support programs, including mortgage interest reimbursement and various payments to families with children. Apatit JSC also provides significant support to the district and the city.
The company has built a new building of the Dvugorye ski base in Volkhov, 7 sports grounds in city courtyards, a skate park, actively develops children’s and youth sports, financing the DROZD program (“Education, health and spirituality for Children of Russia”), which employs about a quarter of all schoolchildren in the city. Volkhovsky “DROZD” has many faces: there are young football players who have become champions, probably, of all available tournaments, there are wrestlers, and handball players with swimmers. During the pandemic, the company allocated serious funds to help medical institutions in Volkhov.
PhosAgro also revives the traditions of the construction of Prizavodsk temples: in 2019, the Cathedral of St. Andrew the First-Called grew in the right-bank part of the city, and 2 years later the architectural ensemble of the temple was supplemented by the Andreevsky Spiritual and Educational Center. Not far from it, an interactive educational center “The Fifteenth Element” has been working for Volkhov schoolchildren for several years, which is located in the building of a former water tower. Here, across the street, there is also a museum of the industrial history of the city with expositions about the Volkhov Aluminum plant and the PhosAgro company.
“In the person of PhosAgro, we have found a reliable partner who always keeps his word, and with whom it is always possible to agree on the joint implementation of good and right deeds. In cooperation with the company, we have new public spaces, sports facilities, and Orthodox traditions are being revived. The company takes care of the repair and improvement of monuments of the Great Patriotic War. This year the construction of a residential building in Volkhov began. It is very important that the company will develop and provide jobs. We see that the salary level at the enterprise has increased more than 3 times since 2012, with the arrival of PhosAgro. Therefore, for my part, I want to note that the state did not make a mistake by providing support measures to the Volkhov complex “PhosAgro”. Here they give the right impetus to the further development of the enterprise, and hence the Volkhovsky district,” commented Alexey Britsun, head of the administration of the Volkhovsky municipal district of the Leningrad Region.
A source: https://spb.aif.ru
