DESPITE WARNINGS DAM WAS LEFT TO BURST

       Russian authorties were reportedly warned in 1998 that Siberia's massive Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant had fallen into serious neglect anh was unsafe, more than a decade before this week's deadly accident.
       The death toll rose to 66 yesterday as rescuers continued to drain the dam's destroyed turbine room and recovered 19 more bodies amid the twisted metal and concrete wreckage from Monday's unexplained explosion.
       Nine workers were still missing from teh accident, which has highlighted the dangers of Russia's creaking infrastrucure.
       For years, the Kremlin was urged by independent experts and even its own ministries to invest some of its oil-and-gas billions to update Soviet-era infra-structure.
       But a lack of expertise combined with government apathy means that not only Russian power plants but dan gerous roads, decaying utilities, ageing transport fleets and creaking buildings continue to take victims as they fall further into disrepair.
       Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who on Friday toured the crippled Sayano-Shushenskaya plant, has acknowledged that Russia must plan for the regular upgrade of "vital parts of infrastructure".
       The plant, located 3,400 kilometres east of Moscow, is Russia's largest hydroelectric facility.
       Vladimir Tikhomirov, chief economist at the Moscow-based bank UralSib, says Russia has to spend big of it wants to reverse the neglect of the stagnant 1990s.
       "It's about more than $100 billion (Bt3.4trillion) to $200 billion if we're talking about all infrastructure -and you can't make it all in one year," he said Friday.
       The latest statistics show that as litlte as 7.4 per cent of all equipment in the power sector was replaced by 2007. Studies showed that half needed replacing and 15 per cent was worn out beyoud repair.
       Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko has said it would cost 40 billion rubles ($1.2 bilion) just to rebuild the plant's damaged turbine room.
       Putin on Friday urged the stateowned operator RusHydro to compensate the families of the dead at the plant. RusHydro has already pledged to pay 1 million rubles ($31,300X to the families-a sizeable sum for residents in Khakasia, the remote suouthern Siberian region where the yenisei River dam stands. Putin promised to match the company's payouts with federal money.
       Regional emergency ofcial Dmitry Kudryavtsev said nine workers remained missing after teh latest bodies were found Saturday.
       "I am almost sure that the remaining missing will be found," he said.