The company ZiO-Podolsk (part of Rosatom's engineering division) has completed one phase of building the Siberia — Russia's first universal project 22220 nuclear icebreaker. They have assembled the first reactor compartment for this nuclear powered ship, RIA Novosti reported citing Atomenergomash press office.

The first reactor's compartment is being prepared for hydraulic testing.

The Siberia is being built at the Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg. The company's other projects include the Arktika — the project 22220 flagship — and the Ural, the second nuclear icebreaker of this project.

Project 22220 icebreakers will be powered by two 175 MW Ritm-200 reactor units. The service life of these reactors is 40 years. Last year, ZiO-Podolsk manufactured Ritm-200 equipment for the icebreaker Arktika.

The project 22220 nuclear icebreakers will be used to escort convoys in the Arctic, breaking through up to three meters of ice. The new ships will provide support for bulk freighters and tankers carrying hydrocarbon-based raw materials from the Yamal and Gydan peninsulas, the Kara Sea shelf to markets in the Asia-Pacific region.