OREANDA-NEWS. DTEK plans to double social investment in Dnepropetrovsk Oblast up to UAH 30.8 million in 2013, according to the Memorandum on Cooperation designed to foster social and economic development of Dnepropetrovsk Oblast.

The document was signed today by DTEK's CEO Maxim Timchenko, chairman of Dnepropetrovsk Oblast State Administration Dmitry Kolesnikov and chairman of Dnepropetrovsk Oblast Council Yevgeny Udod.

DTEK is going to support the development programmes in Dnepropetrovsk, Pavlograd, Pershotravensk, Ternovka, Zelenodolsk as well as Pavlograd and Petropavlovka districts. In particular, the company will invest UAH 13.6m in energy efficiency, UAH 9.7m – in socially important infrastructure, UAH 6.2m – in health care, UAH 0.7m – in development of business environment and UAH 0.6m – in local community engagement.

DTEK continues to partake in establishing a system to efficiently treat solid domestic waste in Western Donbass where around 230,000 people live. They plan to reconstruct an old solid waste landfill and set up a new one along with a number of recycling projects. To this end, DTEK allocated UAH 900,000 in 2012 and is going to invest UAH 1.3m in 2013. In addition, the company initiated to raise co-funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) amounting up to UAH 1m.

DTEK is leading up construction of an industrial park in Pavlograd to create new jobs. As part of cooperation between FCM and DTEK, the region will establish local economic development agencies to raise investment and foster entrepreneurship.

Dnepropetrovsk follows Kiev in starting a project Energy Efficient Schools in September, where students of 21 schools in Dnepropetrovsk Oblast will learn about energy efficiency on a bespoke training course designed to help them address energy saving issues at home and in class.

In 2012, DTEK allocated UAH 2.8m to repair two schools and a kindergarten in Dnepropetrovsk under Municipal Heating Reform project realised jointly with Dnepropetrovsk City Council and USAID. The works to be completed in 2013 will cut energy losses of municipal buildings by 25%.

"Most local communities that joined DTEK Declaration on Social Partnership are based in Dnepropetrovsk Oblast. Since our cooperation started, social investment in the region made UAH 30m including UAH 13.8m in 2012. Thousands of local residents see the progress – repaired kindergartens and schools, good street lighting, reconstructed boiler houses and water pipelines, new medical equipment and technology. In 2013 DTEK will allocate more for social partnership with the oblast than over the past six years. We have clear cooperation plans developed until 2016, which proves that we take very seriously the goal set by our shareholder Rinat Akhmetov – to create better living conditions for our employees and their families," said DTEK's CEO Maxim Timchenko.

"DTEK is a pioneer in the development of social responsibility of business. This company is one of the first national businesses that not only supports social actions of its plants but takes a consistent and systemwide approach to address social issues in the regions where its industrial assets operate," noted chairman of Dnepropetrovsk Oblast State Administration Dmitry Kolesnikov.