Donetsk, Feb 22 — DAN. Mariupol authorities will relaunch the Azov dockyard and create hundreds of jobs for local residents, Donetsk People’s Republic government chairman Vitaly Khotsenko said on Wednesday.

“The dockyard which was severely damaged by Ukrainian army fire has to be rebuilt and retooled, ” Khotsenko said. “It also needs a  mine clearance plan. By launching the enterprise, we’ll create hundreds of new well-paid jobs for the local population.”

The regional authorities’ immediate objective is to launch a modern facility to repair merchant, auxiliary and naval ships, he said.

The Azov Ship Repair Plant is the largest company on the Sea of Azov specializing in ship production, repairs, maintenance, machine -building and transshipment. It used to repair up to 120 sea-going and river vessels and also produced spare parts. The dock has not been functioning since 2014.*jk