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[January 14, 2006]

RUSSIAN, JAPANESE FIRMS EYE RZD STAKE IN YAKUTIA COAL PROJECT

(Interfax News Agency Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax) - Eight Russian and Japanese companies have expressed a firm interest in buying 29.495% of the Elgaugol coal producer, which holds the rights to the giant Elginskoye coal field in Yakutia, from Russian Railways (RZD), Vladimir Yakunin, the president of RZD, told Interfax.

Yakunin said Sumisho Coal Far East, Sumitomo, Sojitz Corporation, Elgaugol itself, Renova, Yakutugol and one other company had paid for tender documentation. RZD will sell its shares in Elgaugol and incomplete infrastructure along the Ulak-Elga rail road at the tender, Yakunin said. Yakunin also said that diamond producer Alrosa and the Mechel Steel Group (RTS: MTLR) had also expressed an interest, but that they needed "more time to draft their offers." For that reason, the tender has been out back from January 17 until March 2, he said.

Yakunin said the shares might be sold without the tender. He said the shares could fetch at least 11 billion rubles.

Officials from Yakutia's government and RZD will meet at the
start
of February to discuss the fate of the railway company's
shares inElgaugol, Yakunin said.

The Russian Natural Resources Ministry has said that the Elginskoye field is the world's biggest in terms of proven power-generating and coking coal reserves. Commercial reserves exceed 2 billion tonnes.

Elgaugol is licensed to mine coal in the field's
northwestern
section. RZD owns 29.295%, ZAO Eastern Construction and
ContractCorporation owns 28.79% and the Republic of Yakutia owns 39.365% of the company.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed forming an international consortium to develop the Elginskoye field.

"An international consortium, with Russia playing the role of leading strategic investor, could be an effective form of implementing this project. It would help draw advanced technology and capital, and, concurrently, control this promising resource base," Putin told a meeting on January 6 which addressed Yakutia's development.

"We must see what organizations plan to develop this deposit, and assess the size of state investment and the end result," Putin said.

"If Russian Railways intends to put 2 billion of the required 2.7 billion rubles, the question arises: Where are the other shareholders and, generally speaking, do we need them at all?" he said.

Putin said that nearly 30 million tonnes of coal could be mined from the Elginskoye coal deposit annually by 2010.

RZD President Vladimir Yakunin also proposed forming an international consortium to build infrastructure for the Elginskoye field.

"We have proposed forming an international consortium to build a rail road to Elginskoye," Yakunin told the meeting in Yakutsk on January 6.

Yakunin said the infrastructure of the port of Vanino must be further developed to handle coal from Elginskoye. He said that South Korea, Japan and the Republic of South Africa want to buy this coal.

Yakunin said that RZD would be prepared to put 11 billion
rubles
into the project at the initial stage. "But we wouldn't like
to besolely responsible for the first phase and merely allow other companies to build up capital at our expense," he said.

The development of the Elginskoye field and the construction of a railway must become an example of state-private partnership, Yakunin said, noting that a comprehensive program for Yakutia's socioeconomic development must be drawn up.

The project must be approved by the government, Yakunin said. "It's impossible to develop railways in this region without dovetailing this project with the rest of Russia's transport system," he said.

Yakunin also said that the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) could be given an additional workload after more investments are made in the railway if the project to develop Elginskoye is a success.

Only 75% of BAM's capacity is currently being used. The development of the Elginskoye coal deposit will increase the transportation of cargo to 18 million - 20 million tonnes, annually, he said.

RZD is investing 13 billion rubles in the checkpoint in Zabaikalsk which will handle oil exports to China, Yakunin said.

But the company "will need solid guarantees from oil companies, that the declared amount of oil will be put through this checkpoint," Yakunin said.

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