Our Olympic team of builders

Sochi, 6:30am. We are en route to Krasnaya Polyana.

The Krasnaya Polyana settlement is located 500 meters above the sea level. We feel excited as a breath-taking route stretching for 50 kilometers runs ahead.

We got to our destination before 7:30am. Near the Gazprom Sotsinvest office the drivers are at a morning briefing – they start work earlier than anyone else. Nikolai Bobrik, Head of the Transport Division assigns routes to the drivers: other staff members will arrive at the premises by car.

At 8:50am almost all members of staff are at their working places.

At 9:00am the morning briefing starts. The latest news from the construction sites is on top of the agenda: is everything going on in a timely manner? Are the contractors’ services of a high quality?

Maxim Gorelov (right), Head of the Southern Region Directorate of Gazprom Sotsinvest is moderating the briefing.

Igor Kharchenko, Adviser to Director General of Gazprom Sotsinvest is talking with his colleagues about the facilities that will be commissioned as early as this summer.

As you may see, one more line of the aerial cableway will soon become operational at the Mountain Tourist Center. We are heading for the low station of the aerial cableway.

10:00am. The station is operational all year round.

Anyone may buy a ticket here and take a tour around the Psekhako Ridge.

At the pick-up point situated in the safety zone of the aerial cableway, together with the security guards…

… the dog called Mishka carries out his duties. Mishka is an old timer here; he has a 5-year track record and officially paid for doing excellent job.

Some of the Company’s experts go up several times a day – almost all construction sites are concentrated “uphill”.

We are also coming inside a cabin of the aerial cableway.

When going up, from the cabin you can enjoy stunning views over the valley where there is the Gazprom Mountain Tourist Center…

… and views of the mountains.

In approximately 12 minutes the cabin arrives at the point located 1,500 meters above the sea level. The facilities under construction are just around the corner.

The first tourists of the day are walking up behind us. Au contraire, this ground is fully packed with mountain skiers starting from the early winter mornings.

Vladimir Makarenko, Deputy Director General of Gazprom Sotsinvest agreed to show us around. Together we are going for an inspection tour.

Vladimir Makarenko: “No doubt our large-scale project will be anything but successful.”

Now we are approaching the Biathlon Stadium. It is already operational and was in use during the Russian Cross Country Ski and Biathlon Championship last winter. However, there is still a construction site at its doorstep.

Project manager Sergey Dubinin (right) is trying to persuade a contract worker that “two days are not a fair deadline; please do try to get everything done during one day!”

Now we are at the construction site where the hotel complex for sportsmen is being built.

Construction of the 3rd floor is humming along.

Lining worker Rustam Amonov says that he is very lucky to work in such pleasant surroundings: “I always feel on top of the world!”

Crane operator Viktor Konyukhov keeps the eye on “strangers” who can be careless enough to find themselves under the crane jib.

Viktor came from Adygea: “To be a builder of the Gazprom facilities – the most serious experience for me so far, though I managed to have jobs even in Moscow!”

It is not easy to operate a heavy truck in the mountain.

Driver Sergey Kubelya: “Mountain roads cry out for a lot of skills; I have 24 years of driving experience.”

11:40am. The construction site overlooks the water reservoir bed. The lake is entirely artificial. Water from the reservoir is used to produce the artificial snow during the winter months.

This is the heart of the artificial snow making system – the pumping station and the control center.

Deputy Head Sergey Kalashnikov responsible for the artificial snow making system operation says, “In terms of quality, the artificial snow is better than the real one.”

For instance, Russian biathletes and skiers have competed on the artificial snow and lived in these cottages this winter.

Meanwhile, we worked up an appetite. It is midday – and we think it’s time to have something to eat.

We are going for lunch together with the builders.

This is the canteen.

All meals are free of charge for the staff members.

Those who are short of time to have lunch in the canteen…

… can have it later in the snack bar.

Manager Zoya Ivleva will always find something “yummy” to eat for the staff members who are always in a rush.

12:30pm. We hope to meet some people at the workers’ camp during the lunch time.

Camp supervisor Valentina Ivakhina welcomes us. She came to work at the Gazprom facilities together with her husband.

We are going to have a quick look around.

There is a birthday calendar in the lady’s part of the camp.

Laborers Pavel Filatov, Oleg Lushenko and Dmitry Marachev are trying to take at least a few minute lunch break from the daily routine…

… Viktor Orlanov, builder of monolithic facilities, has just woke up. He was on the night shift.

12:55pm. A lunch break is over, and it’s time to come back to business. As for us, we are heading downhill – to the aerial cableway.

At some distance from the construction sites we meet ecologist Svetlana Zhiglova. She is checking on plants listed in the Red Book of Russia and replanted from the construction area to a safe zone.

No one could dare to saw down this beautiful oak growing at the bottom of the mountain. To save the tree, the whole construction project had to be changed and that threatened to ruin the schedule. It was a rush job to prepare all documents, but the oak was saved.

1:30pm. It’s time to move on – to the Adler AGDS. We start driving from a parking lot near this welcoming office and we hope to come back here one day.

We are driving downhill to the Sochi coastal area.

On our way we are passing stunning views of southern Russia.

2:30pm. The Adler AGDS is one of six automated gas distribution stations along the Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi gas pipeline route. The facilities are under management of Gazprom Transgaz Krasnodar.

Gas is conveyed from the Dzhubga – Lazarevskoye – Sochi trunkline to the Adler AGDS via this pipe.

In the reduction unit gas pressure is lowered and automatically maintained at the required level. Afterwards, the “blue fuel” gets under way to consumers.

A pressure reduction block.

2:45pm. Operator Vadim Panov is on duty. Just a while ago he was employed as a fitter; after Vadim had successfully completed the advanced training courses, he started work at the Adler AGDS.

Almost everything operates in the automated mode at the station, and the most important thing is to keep a close eye on the instruments and the perimeter.

The Adler TPP will become the major consumer of gas being conveyed via the Adler AGDS. We are going to see the Adler TPP accompanied by the cat called Bublik (“Bagel”). He replaced another “darling of the people” – the cat Adler who lived there until the facility construction was over and one of the builders took the cat with him. As for Bublik, he has no plans to move anywhere.

A few surprises happened on the road.

3:30pm. At the Adler TPP the day goes on with a flurry of activity.

It is noisy inside the main building, pre-commissioning work is underway.

The team put a lot of effort into a big event which is going to happen at the Adler TPP very soon – the first testing of electric power output.

Giuseppe Vielli (left), Chief Engineer at a gas turbines supplier company discusses the upcoming testing with a colleague. Giuseppe is from Italy.

4:00pm. The temporary main control room at the station…

… here the latest data received from the instruments is checked before the startup.

An office of the task group of equipment makers.

Marina Solovieva, representative of Siemens Russia does the equipment setup at the Adler TPP: “Know what’s what in the gas turbines? Oh, this is not difficult at all!”

4:30pm. We are outside. The construction site of the Adler TPP stretches for several thousand square meters and every section needs to be checked.

That’s why Alexey Zverev, Chief Specialist of the Sochi Regional Directorate at Gazprom Investproject sometimes rides 10 kilometers a day on his bike.

4:50pm. A 10 minute break starts and people may rest a little…

… have some coffee,…

…freshen themselves up,…

…get in touch with the family via the Internet.

5:00pm. And go back straight to business! Everyone is hurrying back to the work places, and we are going to the laboratory of the Adler TPP.

Olga Kukhareva works here; her task is to do the quality check of the process water which needs to be very clean at the station.

We are coming into the next room where the water is being treated. We are having a quick look at the huge filtering system and then we are off to our next appointment.

5:30pm. Alexander Gumenyuk, Head of the Sochi Regional Directorate at Gazprom Investproject knows every little detail about the Adler TPP, as well as local legends. One of those is about the “happy column”.

This column was the first one to appear at the construction site. This is how the column was installed in May 2010 (photo archive).

And you can see how the column looks now. Some people say that it brings luck if you make a wish and touch it. Of course, we will do so!

6:00pm. In the meantime, a business day is almost over at the Adler TPP, only the staff on duty stays at the station. Rounding off our visit, we make some photos from the roof of the main building.

From this point you can overlook the sports facilities, and the Adler TPP will provide heat and power for these facilities, including…

… the Central Ice Stadium.

The Adler TPP will be commissioned in 2012.

Greetings from Sochi! See you next time!