Makhachkala, August 15, 2014. The Russian minister of North Caucasus affairs Lev Kuznetsov and Daghestani Head Ramazan Abdulatipov visited "Dagdizel Plant" OJSC in Kaspiysk. The delegation toured the production facilities and held a meeting on the plant’s activities, the press service of Daghestani Head and government’s administration informs.

Ramazan Abdulatipov noted that the ministry of North Caucasus affairs is to coordinate implementation of lots of programs in the region. Lev Kuznetsov assured "Dagdizel" can become a key element in solving Russia’s defense issues. "Today, the plant employs 2,200 with potential employment expansion. We need to enlarge the component base from 30% up to at least 70%. And most importantly, we ought to equip our Armed Forces with up-to-date products," he summed up adding that they also needed a clearly defined action plan to be later strictly followed.

Daghestani Head said that developing industry, engineering and technology was fundamental to withdraw the republic from the crisis it is in. To accelerate industrial development and to enhance Daghestan’s competitiveness, they had adopted the "New Industrialization" priority project with some state programs approved ("Modernizing Daghestan industry in 2014 - 2018" and "Developing Daghestan’s scientific, technological and innovation potential in 2014-2018".)

Founded in 1932, "Dagdizel" is one of the oldest and largest plants in Daghestan. In the Soviet Union, it was one of the leading diesel and torpedo producers. Over time, they started to combine defense orders and civil engineering production. Today, the plant is producing a quarter of the total industrial output in Daghestan, providing a quarter of total tax revenues among industrial enterprises.