WORLD BANK TO FINANCE RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM








NORILSK, MARCH 2, 2001, /FROM RIA-NOVOSTI CORRESPONDENT BORIS IVANOV/ -- A group of experts serving with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has completed its four-day assignment in Norilsk, which is located above the polar circle. The IBRD expert group and the administration of the Norilsk mining company have jointly modified a previous pilot project stipulating World-Bank appropriations for the resettlement of some Norilsk residents to southern districts of Krasnoyarsk territory and to European Russian cities.


	Talking to RIA-NOVOSTI here today, deputy Norilsk mayor Arkady Genkin noted that, according to the pilot project's provisions, due to be implemented since October 2001, more than 4,000 families will have to leave Norilsk. The World Bank intends to set aside $38 million for building apartments for those families in various Russian cities. The World-Bank board would be expected to adopt its final decision on allocating this sum total in mid-April.


	The World Bank's chief executive officers also intend to decide on funding two other pilot projects as regards the resettlement of "redundant" people from other northern cities, such as Magadan and Vorkuta.


	According to experts, Norilsk's optimal population should total not more than 150,000-160,000; right now, some 240,000 people live in Norilsk.