Russian company OAO Russky Solod have started building a malting plant in Orlovsk Region, Russia, according to the Russian media reports from November 18. OAO Russky Solod is a subsidiary of Avangard Bank. The total cost of the project is 1 billion RUB (about US$ 33.6 million). The plant is to be launched by January 2005. The production capacity is to be about 100 thousand tonnes of malt per year. The plant built in Orlovsk Region is the third malting plant build by the Avangard Bank on the territory of Russia. The total production capacities of plants will come to 300 thousand tonnes per year that will cover about 30% of the Russian brewers needs in malt. The total cost of the project regarding building malting plants in Russia is estimated at US$ 100 million. There was invested about US$ 55 million by the middle of November 2003.

19 November, 2003