During a working visit of Acron Group’s management to Dorogobuzh, Smolensk region, Governor Vasily Anokhin and Acron Vice President Vladimir Kantor went to the Dorogobuzh Central District Hospital, where an infectious disease ward opened its doors after reconstruction. Dorogobuzh (a member of Acron Group) invested over RUB 50 million in the overhaul and new equipment.
The guests were briefed in the progress of the overhaul of the five-storey inpatient clinic at the Central Regional Hospital, which is also sponsored by the company. Work is currently underway on the fifth floor of the building. When completed, this floor will house an intensive care unit, a surgery unit and an operating room. The remaining floors will be renovated in stages. The ground floor will house the admission office, paediatric and radiology wards, the first floor a neurology ward, the second floor a general medicine ward and the third floor an obstetrics and gynaecology ward.
In the autumn of 2023, Dorogobuzh and the administration of Smolensk region signed a social partnership agreement under which the company will invest a total of RUB 150 million in 2024–2026 in health, education and cultural projects to address the most pressing issues and create comfortable living conditions for local residents.
Acron Group’s top managers also inspected the ongoing renovations at the local sports complex and Verkhnedneprovsky Technological College (VTC). In April 2024, Dorogobuzh and the Smolensk regional government agreed to reconstruct the sports complex and open it to the public. This July, the company signed a 49-year concession agreement with the local administration.
The ongoing reconstruction of the VTC is part of a RUB 97 million joint project between Dorogobuzh and the regional authorities. It includes major repairs to classrooms, a gymnasium, practical workshops, offices and utility rooms, as well as general improvements to the campus. Dorogobuzh has donated a three-storey building to the college, which the company will renovate and upgrade to accommodate new training workshops. The overhaul will be completed by next academic year, when a chemical education cluster is scheduled to open at VTC as part of the federal Professionalitet programme. Based at VTC, the cluster will bring together seven secondary vocational institutions.
The working visit ended with the laying of the foundation stone for a new park to mark the 60th anniversary of Dorogobuzh, the town’s major employer, which will be celebrated in 2025. The new centre of attraction, located on Komsomolskaya Street, will have walkways, comfortable benches, lawns, trees and shrubs, green hedges, street lamps, arches, a rotunda and a sundial, gazebos and swings. The first part of the future park has already been completed, a children’s play area designed by Dorogobuzh’s Industrial Design Team.
Vasily Anokhin, Governor of Smolensk region, said: ‘The joint efforts of Dorogobuzh, a member of Acron Group, and the regional government are making a significant contribution to the improvement of local public infrastructure. Our social projects include the renovation of the Central District Hospital and the sports complex, the creation of a new park, and the modernisation of Verkhnedneprovsky Technological College, which will be the umbrella organisation of the chemical education cluster. Today, with the opening of the infectious disease unit, we have seen that all social initiatives are being implemented properly and with great care for the residents. I am confident that our partnership with Dorogobuzh will grow stronger for the benefit of the community. I would like to thank Acron Vice President Vladimir Kantor and Dorogobuzh CEO Vladimir Kunitsky for their support and contribution to important social initiatives’, said Mr Anokhin.
‘About this day a year ago, we signed a social partnership agreement with the government of Smolensk region. Today, we can see its first tangible results. The infectious disease ward has been completely renovated, which was the most important project and required a lot of resources. The new unit, which has been upgraded to meet advanced standards for infectious disease facilities, will provide a more comfortable environment for patients’, said Acron Vice President Vladimir Kantor. ‘We continue the reconstruction of the Central District Hospital. Next year, three renovated wards and a surgical unit will be opened, and all utility systems will be replaced. In addition to the hospital, the sports complex and Verkhnedneprovsky Technological College are being renovated. All this is part of our consistent efforts in Smolensk region and of our social policy’.