MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Finance Ministry has allocated 800 million rubles ($32 million) to help Nevelsk, a town in the Far East island of Sakhalin, recover from a recent earthquake, a ministry spokesman said.
The earthquake struck on August 2 killing two people in the port town in southern Sakhalin, and leaving hundreds homeless.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said a further 1.2 billion rubles ($47 million) would be provided, to complete the 2 billion ruble aid package for the town, which was the worst-hit by the quake. The funds are to be transferred as an interest-free state loan to the Sakhalin Region.
Russia's new prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, told Alexander Khoroshavin, the newly appointed governor of the Sakhalin Region, to provide a list of houses, engineering infrastructure, and health, education and culture facilities in need of reconstruction.
At a conference convened to discuss rebuilding efforts, the governor said contracts had already been signed to construct 110,000 square meters (1.1 million square feet) of new housing. He said a total of 1,500 new apartments would be built by the end of the year.
The new governor was nominated by President Vladimir Putin and voted in by the local legislature to replace Ivan Malakhov, who quit following criticism over his handling of the relief operation in Nevelsk.
Prime Minister Zubkov ordered the Emergency Situations Ministry, the Ministry of Regional Development and the Sakhalin administration to set up a coordinating center to repair damage caused by the earthquake.
The center will be headed by Yury Tyrtyshov, deputy minister of regional development.
