“The program is aimed at restoring Russia’s position in the world’s shipbuilding”, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. “Traditionally our country had a strong ship building industry, starting from Peter the Great, we were amongst the ten most advanced countries in this sphere. But lately there has been a substantial drop in orders for construction of both naval vessels and commercial boats, which has led out ship building plants into an extremely difficult situation”, a press release at the Kremlin’s web site reads.
The Government approved a state program where 600 billion rubles (app €15 billion) will be used in 2013-2030. More than half of the funding will come from the state budget.
The program prioritizes development of new technology within shipbuilding. Existing research institutes and design bureaus will to be upgraded and education of new engineers and workers will be emphasized. Fulfillment of state military orders is another priority.
With the new program Medvedev hopes to increase production of vessels for civil shipping five times by 2030. 100 000 high-skilled jobs will be created or upgraded.
Russia’s share of military equipment on the world market should exceed 15 percent, and civil – at least 2 percent. “At the moment, it is less than half a percent”, Medvedev states.
