Sanctions Did Not Affect the Pace of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex Construction

One of the largest infrastructure facilities is under construction in the south of the country – Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex. Recently, the Rostov Region authorities have informed that navigation through the hydroelectric complex is to start in 2025. Sergey Kiper, Chief Engineer of Stroytransgaz, the contracting company, told RZD-Partner Information Agency about the progress of works at the site.

– Sergey, your company built the first phase of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex. The works were completed with a great delay. What were the reasons for it?

– Fragments of ships sunk during the Great Patriotic War were found in the area of the Don River ​​dredging. In this regard, there was a need to perform an impact assessment report, to determine the damage to aquatic bioresources. Only after passing the approval procedure it became possible to extract the ship fragments and release the territory from the explosive objects, and only then we could continue the main activities.

– In the course of Phase 1 a slight deviation of methods was reported. What kind of methods were you talking about?

– We had to take into account the navigation specifics, so we made adjustments in the layout of dredgers and slurry pipeline, and improved design of the latter. The sequence and method of dredging operations were also changed, in particular, more powerful dredgers were used with a dredging capacity of up to 500 cubic meters per hour. In connection with these amendments to the method of construction and installation works, the project was adjusted and then re-examined by FAI (Federal Autonomous Institution) Glavgosexpertiza of Russia.

Fish bypass and spawning channel

– At what phase is the project now? What work scope has already been completed?

The plans for this year include construction of a rotational camp, clearing the territory, temporary access road preparation, construction pit excavation and dewatering works. As of today, we are performing works on deforestation and topsoil removal in the territory of the future fish bypass and spawning channel (almost 96 hectares). The works on building the temporary access road from Zadonsky Settlement to the construction base have been completed. Construction materials and equipment started to arrive at the construction site of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex, they include supplies for the concrete mixing unit which will be put in operation by the end of the summer.

The following works are underway: arrangement of a construction site, work sites and workplaces, construction of a residential camp, dormitories, a canteen, health center and a rest room for shift workers. The pit excavation continues along with sheet pile enclosure driving to create a groundwater cutoff.

– It is stated that with the commissioning of the hydroelectric complex, the water level in the Don will rise to 4 m, which will secure the navigation. How will the Don navigation and the general southern navigation change?

– In our case, we are talking not about the water level, but about a 4 m waterway depth. It means that construction of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex will contribute to elimination of infrastructure restrictions in the main directions of the Don freight and passenger traffic by providing the required dimensions (width 80 m, depth 4 m, bending radius 500 m). This will improve the competitiveness of freight transportation by inland waterways and increase their capacity by 19 million tons.

Construction base

– What difficulties does the project execution face at the moment?

– The works are being performed in line with the Project Execution Plan.

– Are there any difficulties with the supply of required building materials or equipment due to the imposed sanctions?

– There are no complications so far.

– Earlier, Andrey Lavrishchev, Deputy Head of FBI Azov-Don Basin Administration, reported that construction of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex would be completed in December 2024. The facility will be put into operation in 2025, by the start of spring navigation. How relevant are these timelines? What factors will the timely project execution depend on?

– The timelines are relevant, they can change only in the event of force majeure. The construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.

– In October last year, ​​Gennady Matishov, the RAS Academician, Scientific Director of the SSC RAS (Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences) called construction of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex a big mistake. He stated that during construction of the Tsimlyansk Reservoir in the 1950s, many villages were flooded. Is this opinion well-founded?

– The Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex is unique in terms of the minimal impact on the environment due to a small two-meter retaining height and low water pressure.

– Earlier, the RAS Academician also called construction of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex “useless chores” and pointed out that the issue of a low water level could be solved by a project comparable in scale to the Kerch Bridge. To what extent will this hydroelectric complex be connected with a single inland water system?

– In the European part of Russia, the main water transport route is the Unified Deep Water System unparalleled anywhere in the world with a length of 6.5 thousand km transporting more than 70% of the total river freight and carrying main export and import cargo flows. It connects the Baltic, White, Caspian, Azov and Black seas. However, limiting areas or “bottlenecks” of the Unified Deep Water System do not allow for using its enormous potential to a full extent. The hydroelectric complex in line with the Don is built on one of the critically limiting sections, which constitutes km 3,089 of the UDWS navigation pass. The main functional purpose of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex is to provide the required passage dimensions.

Arrangement of the pit sheet pile enclosure

– The area of flooded territories in the Rostov Region after the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex  construction was estimated at 800 hectares. Are there residential buildings in this area? And to what extent will the Rostov Region be flooded due to the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex?

– When rivers are blocked by hydraulic structures, including dams, water reservoirs are formed – storage basins, partially or completely accumulating the runoff, which is used for domestic and economic needs. The Bagaevskoye Reservoir is located upstream Arpachin Farm, which will be protected by the hydroelectric complex. In fact, hydroelectric complexes help delay and sometimes even prevent flooding. And one shall remember that floods are associated with climatic conditions, heavy rains and snowfalls. It should also be taken into account that the hydroelectric complex will have only 2 m of damming, so that the environmental impact is minimized.

– And what kind of damage will be compensated for the fishing industry of the Rostov Region?

Upon completion of the first construction phase, more than 30 thousand juvenile Russian sturgeons were released into the Don downstream the Tsimlyansk Hydroelectric Complex. As part of the environmental obligations, after the second phase execution, over 2 million juvenile Russian sturgeons will be released.