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Putin, Finnish President Open New Power Plant in West Siberia

24 September 2013 20:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Finnish counterpart on Tuesday opened a gas-fueled power plant built by Finnish energy company Fortum in the west Siberian town of Nyagan, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

Putin and Finnish leader Sauli Niinistö both simultaneously pushed a symbolic button, after which the plant was connected to Russia’s national power grid.

A Russian presidential aide earlier told reporters that state nuclear power corporation Rosatom planned to become the main contractor in the construction of a nuclear power plant in northwest Finland.

The aide added that Rosatom and Finnish power consortium Fennovoima were expected to sign a contract for the construction by the end of this year.

The Siberian facility, which will eventually generate 1,250 megawatts of power, has had its Unit 1 in operation since March. Units 2 and 3 are to be completed this year and next, respectively. Investment in the project has been about 60 billion rubles ($1.8 billion).

Fortum’s chief financial officer, Markus Rauramo, said his company was committed to a long-term presence in Russia. Fortum’s overall investment program in Russia is worth an estimated 2.5 billion euros ($3.3 billion).