OJSC Cherkizovo Group, one of Russia's leading integrated and diversified meat producers, is pleased to announce the official opening of the second line of the poultry breeding facility at its Bryansk cluster.

The second line of the poultry breeding facility consists of 26 bird houses, with a combined capacity of almost 880,000 broilers. The bird houses will be populated with the Group's own hatcheries, and equipped with state-of-the-art technologies that reflect the latest innovations and best practices in poultry keeping.

The first line of the facility, also incorporating 26 bird houses, was launched in autumn 2010. The total investment constructing the first and second lines at this facility is approximately US$29.5 million.

During the first stage of the Bryansk capacity increase project, Cherkizovo Group also completed the construction of 11 additional bird houses at the existing poultry breeding facilities. Further enhancements currently underway include the building of a new hatchery with an annual capacity of 66 million eggs. Cherkizovo anticipates that this will be opened in the second quarter of 2011.

Both stages of the Bryansk project are expected to be completed in 2012. In 2010, the Bryansk poultry cluster had a capacity of 38,200 tonnes of live weight poultry meat; the completion of this project will see that rise to 85,000 tonnes.