Putin to open flood protecting complex in St Petersburg

    MOSCOW, August 12 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin will make a business trip to St. Petersburg, where he will
participate in the opening ceremony of a flood protecting complex, will
visit the South-West thermoelectric plant, and will inspect construction
of the Aspen Grove housing complex.
    The trip will be on the eve of the Day of Constructor, which is
celebrated in Russia on August 14.
    The flood protecting complex is a unique multifunctional construction,
which does not have analogues in the world. Its main objective is to
protect the city from possible floods, where water may rise by up to five
metres.
    The probability of a catastrophe scenario is growing with the growing
repetition of such events. 25 percent of the Neva River's floods over 300
years occurred during past 15 years. Floods with water rising by over 250
centimetres grew over past 25 years by five times, and most of them happen
in winter periods, which was a very rare occasion in previous centuries.
Statistics says that every year about 100 risings of water occur.
    In October of past year, meteorologists forecasted the water may rise
by 180 centimetres, but the flood protecting complex let the water rise by
20 centimetres only.
    Besides, traffic above the new complex will make a circle road around
the city, which will improve greatly the traffic situation in St.
Petersburg.
    The construction of the protecting complex started back in 1979, but
it was stopped in the 1990s to be resumed from 2005. New modern materials and technologies made it possible to complete the construction earlier
than it had been planned - in 2011 instead of 2014.