The village of Ust-Avam Image credit: Norilsk Nickel
The number of houses has increased in the village of Ust-Avam founded in 1937 and located in the Dolgano-Nenets District in the Taimyr area in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Russia, as two new modern houses were built by Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and platinum group metals. They were built during the implementation of the programme aimed at supporting and developing the indigenous minorities of the North (IMN).
“It is a gratifying feeling to see the results of our programme to support indigenous peoples specifically in the housing infrastructure. Today, two families moved into their new houses. These are spacious, warm, bright houses that comply with all the norms of our legislation. In addition, the would-be residents could control the quality of the materials used, as well as the progress of the construction. This year, we will also make the residents of the Volochanka village happy and continue to provide new houses every year,” Andrey Grachyov, Vice President for Federal and Regional Projects of Norilsk Nickel, said in his comments on this event.
The company emphasizes that all the houses are built on piles, which is in full compliance with the construction technology that should be used in permafrost areas. The area of each house is 50 sq. metres, it has two rooms, a hallway, and a kitchen.
Since 2020, Norilsk Nickel has been implementing a five-year programme to support the indigenous minorities in Taimyr. Initially, the Nornickel MMC (Mining and Metallurgical Company) allocated 2 bn roubles for financing its housing programme, but in 2021, it allocated an additional sum of 200 mn roubles for these purposes.
