On 11 August, 2018, on the Day of the Builder, the Governor of Leningrad Oblast Aleksandr Drozdenko paid a working visit to Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant and the town of Sosnovy Bor. Right before the commissioning of the new VVER-1200 unit into commercial operation, the Governor was shown the last complex testing at full capacity.

“Today, the first power unit of Leningrad NPP-2 reached the output of 2 billion kilowatt-hours of electric energy, which has already been delivered to Leningrad Oblast and other Russian regions”, Aleksandr Drozdenko said. “This figure is unique: during the tests only the unit produced as much as the average hydroelectric power plant produces over a year. It is an incredible power, unimaginable advance technology and indescribable force. Today, the project of new Leningrad NPP unit construction has already been recognized as the safest and most technologically advanced in the world. And this is a reason to be proud.”

Then the Governor, together with the Leningrad NPP top management and the Sosnovy Bor administration, visited the construction site of the volleyball center, which is being constructed with the involvement of Leningrad Oblast budgetary funds, and Rosatom’s sports training cluster that has been opened on 3 August.

“The agreement with Rosatom is being implemented effectively”, the governor concluded. “We have several joint projects. One of them is about sports for children. School stadiums, courtyard playgrounds, a unique training complex is open. Nearby there is a large volleyball stadium for 2,500 spectators. Leningrad Oblast does not have another indoor hall like this. This means that our agreement is working and will continue to work. Now, we together with Rosatom State Corporation are facing the task to make Sosnovy Bor the most progressive, comfortable and environmentally compliant town in Russia.”

Director of Leningrad NPP Vladimir Pereguda stressed that the implementation of social programs directly depends on production, “The more efficient the production develops, the more opportunities we have to implement new social projects. After the commissioning of the new VVER-1200 power unit, the budget of Leningrad Oblast will start receiving an additional 3 billion rubles of taxes annually. And this means that we not only will continue to implement major regional investment projects, but also will think of new investments in culture and sports.”

“Now”, Vladimir Pereguda added, "we are at the final stage of creation of another Rosatom’s project for the town – a 17-km-long bicycle path that connects the industrial zone and Sosnovy Bor.