Kalmykia to participate in building Kalmykia to participate in building tourist zone in Altai Republic. zone in Altai Republic.

Itar-Tass overnight news cycle for July 2 - 4.

GORNO-ALTAISK, July 2 (Itar-Tass) - The Kalmykia Republic is ready to participate in building a special economic zone of a tourist-recreation type, called "Altai Valley" in the Altai Republic, said President of the Kalmykia Republic Kirsan Ilyumzhinov who is now in Gorno-Altaisk on a visit.

He arrived here in connection with the Days of Kalmykia, marked in the
Altai Republic on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the voluntary
accession of Kalmykia people to Russia and the signing of the Agreement on
cooperation between the Altai Republic and the Kalmykia Republic,
Itar-Tass learnt at the press service of the territorial branch of the
tourist and recreation zones department in Gorno-Altaisk, the capital of
the Altai Republic.
Head of the Altai Republic Alexander Berdnikov pointed to this project
as the top one in investment and economic plans of this region.
Ilyumzhinov confirmed Kalmykia's readiness to participate also in other
investment projects of the Altai Republic.
"We send our children to Turkey, Egypt and other foreign health
resorts, while there is such wonderfully beautiful region in direct
proximity to us. We shall now send our tourists, schoolchildren and
officials to you," he added.
The total sum of all investments into "the Altai Valley" is estimated
at 22 billion roubles. Out of the total, the federal budget appropriates
for its infrastructure 7,477 million roubles. The tourist zone is located
25 kilometres from Gorno-Altaisk on the bank of the Katun River with an
area of 857 hectares in the Maiminsky district of the republic.
It will welcome the first tourists in 2012. The recreation zone will
offer services for 94,000 people annually.

.GAZ Group to discharge 7,000 workers in Nizhny Novgorod.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, July 2 (Itar-Tass) - GAZ Group will discharge 7,000
workers from enterprises in the city of Nizhny Novgorod by August 1,
Minister of Industry and Innovations in the government of the Nizhny
Novgorod Region Nikolai Satayev said on Wednesday, referring to the
management of the car company.
According to the minister, the regional government and the employment
service are already looking for versions of job placements for this
considerable "reinforcement" of the army of jobless, which now tops 32,000
men in the region. The city of Nizhny Novgorod and the region plan to
stage 80 job placement events by the year-end specially for workers of GAZ
Group enterprises.
Besides, search will be made for jobs at other enterprises of the
engineering industry for GAZ skilled specialists. "We know that the
Gidromash and Nitel factories need workers. Some specialists can find jobs
at those enterprises," the minister noted.
Satayev admitted that it is a difficult task to find jobs for such a
great number of people. He reported that the question is discussed to
appropriate additional funds from the federal and regional budgets to
retrain specialists who lost their jobs at GAZ Group enterprises. Nearly a
third of discharged workers of the company are to be retrained.
"I mean 2,300 workers who tendered applications for retraining,"
Satayev explained.