OREANDA-NEWS. April 13, 2012. In 2012 SCM Group is going to spend at least UAH 170m on social partnership projects in the regions of its operations – 70% more than in 2011.

The Programme focuses on the development of social infrastructure2and business environment as well as projects in education, public health, environment, energy efficiency, culture and sport.

"Investing in the development of the regions of our operations is an integral part of our business strategy. The Group employs today 260,000 people in the cities and towns, where more than five million people live. We understand that working and living conditions should be good for the people to work well at our businesses. The cities where we are based should have good hospitals, schools, kindergartens and good roads. Heating and water should be available in houses. Entrepreneurship should develop too. This is the position of the SCM Group. We partner with local governments and keep a dialogue with local communities to determine top priority objectives and are working to meet them," said Oleg Popov, CEO of SCM.

In 2011 SCM invested around UAH 100m in social projects and the Group's biggest industrial holdings, Metinvest and DTEK, accounted for most of the amounts – UAH 69.28m and 25.34m respectively.

Metinvest's businesses implement the Social Partnership Programme based on agreements on social and economic cooperation with local governments. Almost every asset of the holding has signed such agreements, including Azovstal and Ilyich steel plants, Avdeyevka Coke and Chemicals Plant, Khartsyzsk Pipe Plant, Yenakiyevo Steel Plant, ore mining and processing plants, etc.

In 2011 the social partnership programme at Metinvest focused on:

the development of social infrastructure in cities (60%), e.g. reconstruction of Damanskiy residential area in Krivoy Rog (Dnepropetrovsk Oblast);

culture and sport (17%), e.g. development of children's football in eight towns of Donetsk and Dnepropetrovsk Oblasts;

education (13%), e.g. School-University-Plant programme at Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol (Donetsk Oblast);

other projects (10%).

In 2012 Metinvest will invest around UAH 100m in the Programme.

DTEK's businesses implement the social partnership programme as part of Declaration on Social Partnership with assistance of local governments and international organizations. So far the Declaration has been signed by nine DTEK companies and local authorities of nineteen towns in Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Vinnitsa, Lugansk, Lvov and Ivano-Frankovsk oblasts.

In 2011 DTEK focused its investments on:

public health (35%), e.g. Telemedicine project;

energy efficiency in utilities (25%), e.g. modernisation of heating networks in Kurakhovo (Donetsk Oblast), Pavlograd and Dnepropetrovsk (Dnepropetrovsk Oblast);

development of business environment (20%), e.g. launch of a sewing workshop in Dobrotvor (Lvov Oblast);

education, culture and sport (20%), e.g. construction of swimming pools, football fields, and sports playgrounds.

In 2012 DTEK will invest around UAH 60m in the Social Partnership Programme.