Ownership dispute results in demolition of Russian transmission towers

Bashkirian operator Bashinformsvyaz ordered the demolition by explosion of four 200-metre-high radio broadcasting towers in the centre of Ufa as a dispute over ownership of the facilities, and the land they occupy, reached a new level.

The towers were blown up on Sunday, and the explosion was shown on the Vesti news programme of Rossia TV the following day.

Bashinformsvyaz has already lost part of the property in a court battle with the Russian TV Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS), which insists it has been the legal owner since 2001.

Bashinformsvyaz decided to destroy the towers to prevent the state enterprise from acquiring the most expensive element of the infrastructure: a plot of land worth over 200 million rubles. It’s reported that either a high-class residential building or a shopping mall will be built on the land where the towers had stood.

The incident has caused a major dispute. Andrei Pautov, an advisor to the RTRS Director General, says the towers, as well as other facilities of the broadcasting complex, belong to RTRS, which has been trying to legally take them away from Bashinformsvyaz since 2002.

The RV-1 broadcasting complex includes radio transmitters (earlier used by Radio Rossii and Mayak, and not working now), the four blown-up towers, several buildings, and a land plot of 70 hectares. Bashinformsvyaz was to pass the complex over to RTRS back in 2001, according to the Russian president’s decree #1031, stipulating that all elements of broadcasting infrastructure in Russia’s regions should be submitted under RTRS’ control. However, Bashinformsvyaz never implemented that decree.

On June 22nd, the Arbitration Court of Bashkiria partially fulfilled RTRS’ demand, ruling to hand radio transmitters over to the state enterprise. The hearings concerning other elements still go on.

Read more in Kommersant

Source: Media Network