Vnesheconombank to lend 4.5 billion roubles for the sapphire glass plant project in Naberezhnye Chelny

 

On June 27, Board Chairman of Vnesheconombank Vladimir Dmitriev and Manager of the project “Kama Crystal Technology” Leonid Anisimov singed a loan agreement in the presence of Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov in Naberezhnye Chelny. According to the agreement, Vnesheconombank will lend 4.5 billion roubles for a term of nine years to expand production of sapphire glass at Kama Crystal Technology.

Before the signing ceremony, the honoured guests toured one of the most high-tech enterprises in Tatarstan. Established in 2012, the factory specializes in growing ultrapure synthetic sapphire crystals. Then, crystals are cut into plates used primarily for the production of high-brightness LEDs. Besides, sapphire glass is now used in mobile devices. For instance, Apple uses this material to cover the Home button of the iPhone 5S and the American company buys sapphire crystal from the Naberezhnye Chelny plant as well.

During the tour, the guests were shown the production process and were told that the company was established under the comprehensive plan to develop the economy of Naberezhnye Chelny. In particular, the energy infrastructure for the new enterprise was created using the budget funds.

Commenting on the event, Rustam Minnikhanov noted the importance of the programme to support single-industry cities, due to which the initial stage of the project was implemented and thanked Vnesheconombank and personally Vladimir Dmitriev for the active support of the project at all stages.

"We will be major players in this global market in the near future. This will mean new jobs, added value and import substitution for the republic and the country. Today, it is important that high-tech products are produced in Russia,” Rustam Minnikhanov said.

According to Vladimir Dmitriev, it is a large project, consisting of four stages, and Vnesheconombank is financing the first three stages, the budget of which makes 6 billion roubles, with 4.5 billion roubles being lent by the bank.

"I am so pleased that we have a lot of projects with Tatarstan. Today, we visited Innopolis, just two weeks ago we laid the foundation stone of the new synthetic rubber plant. We work closely with "KAMAZ" within the framework of the Ammonium project,” he continued.

"We have established strategic partnership with the regional government and enterprises," Vladimir Dmitriev said.