Corporation is a unique development institute that is able to solve complex tasks.

Renovated air gate of Samara

- Recently it has become known that the official opening of the new air-terminal complex will take place at the beginning of the next year. Could you please tell us about the Corporation’s role in implementation of the one of the most ambitious investment projects of recent years?

- Among the strategic regional projects that were offered for the implementation by the Corporation at the moment of its incorporation in November 2008, the project of Kurumoch International Airport development held a special place. The main factor that limited the development of great potential of the airport was the existence of the old terminal that didn’t meet the modern requirements for comfort, level of provided services, transport accessibility and transfer capabilities of the hub airport.

The development of the airport with the equity holding structure of its operator “Kurumoch International Airport” OJSC that existed before the Corporation entrance to the project was impossible. The results of the evaluation of the world practices and negotiations with the potential investors have shown that the only possible form to attract private investments to the project of the airport development was the direct participation of the Corporation as a party of investment transaction.

During the short period the Corporation made a huge amount of work on transferring the major share of stock of the airport to the regional ownership, repurchasing of the share of stock from the private owners, including from the former employees of the airport, at a fair market price.

Together with international consultants having an experience of implementation of such projects, the Corporation designed the master plan of the airport till 2035, the concept of project implementation, rules for selection of investors and a wide range of other documents necessary for investors.

Thus, during the relatively short period and without attraction of budget funding the Corporation managed to structure the project, carry out a competitive selection of the strategic investor that generated a great interest from the specialized investors and financial institutions. The investment agreement concluded with the winner of a selection fixed the key terms and conditions, the manner of project implementation and financing as well as the obligations and responsibility of the investor.

- What is the role of the Corporation after the solving the key task?

- The Corporation exercised control over the process of project implementation by the investor, including over the observation of the quality indicators on the airport operation during the construction. At the same time Corporation provided the assistance to investor in solving the task related to the project, for example, during the registration of the land plots, solving the infrastructure issues, organization of the express on the route Samara – airport – Togliatti. At this moment the construction of all objects of the first stage of the investment program is completed. Official commissioning of the object will take place as scheduled – not later than December 31, testing of the new terminal is already in progress and it is plan to perform technical flights in December. The official opening will take place at the beginning of the 2015.

We are quite satisfied with the choice of investor made at the end of 2011, because for the rather short period – 2 years from the moment of signing the investment agreement – a new passenger terminal with the total area of about 42 thousand sq.m equipped with the up-to-date technological equipment , cargo terminal, a range of infrastructure objects were built and the old terminal was reconstructed. Investor of the project also positively evaluates our cooperation during the implementation of the first stage of the investment program and expects further assistance from the Corporation. Direct participation of the Corporation in this project totally reflected its uniqueness as a development institute that is able to solve complex task on implementation of strategic investment projects.

Agroindustrial complex is in the limelight

- Let’s move from the airport to the projects in the field of agroindustrial complex. Here the Corporation is implementing two large projects at once – construction of poultry complex in Sergievsky district and creation of dairy farms. What makes this theme to be so interesting?

- There is much tension around the issues of food security of the region in the last years. Their relevance has just increased since the moment of Russia’s access to WTO and considering the current foreign policy situation. In modern agroindustrial complex all the projects are capital-intensive and long-term. In this respect the Governor gave the Corporation as a development institute a task to launch large-scale agroindustrial projects.

- What have you achieved in this field?

- Speaking about the project in Sergievsky district, it is the largest poultry project in Privolzhsky Federal District. The total cost exceeds 10 billion rubles. The construction and further operation of it is carried out by Corporation’s subsidiary company “Evropeyskie biologicheskie tehnologii” LLC.

A huge construction is started at the several grounds simultaneously The assembly of all tanks for raw material storage of total volume of 77 thousand tons is completed, construction of elevator tower, weight-house, grain dumps is in progress. All foundations at the feed-milling plant are built and the production of technological equipment is in final stage. Construction of slaughter and processing plant is in progress. A building of total area of 26 thousand m is almost ready for the assembling the roof and sandwich paneling. The construction of the hatcher of total area of 8,3 thousand sq. m is in the same stage. The construction of poultry houses the total number of which is 150 is in progress. Poultry complex is a huge enterprise with large and difficult infrastructure. Thus, for example, the total water consumption will be more than 6 thousand cubic meters per day, there will be built around 30 distribution and transformer electric substations, gas-distribution station. The volume of industrial and utility effluents which will come to purification facilities that are being designed now will be equal to 3.5 thousand cubic meters per day. All together 1580 permanent work places will be created at poultry complex. Designed capacity of the complex is not less than 50 thousand ton of poultry meat in carcass weight per year. Moreover, selected technological equipment will allow to increase the capacity of complex till almost 100 thousand tons at reasonable investments. This not only will satisfy the needs of the Samara region but also will give an opportunity to supply the products to other regions.

- One more large project in agroindustrial sector is an establishing of stock breeding complex of dairy profile. Tell us about the process of this project implementation.

- During 2014 Corporation carried out preconstruction activities within the framework of the project of establishing the dairy unit in Borsky district. It is quite difficult and large-scale project. At present a business-plan and a financial model are designed, a technological scheme of a complex is approves and land plots for construction of stock breeding complex and forage base are purchased. It must be noted that for the complex with completed cycle of herd reproduction of such scale it is needed not less than 10 thousand ha of lands for forage base, and they must be located in the certain distance from the farm in order to reduce logistic costs.

We plan to start main jobs in spring-summer of 2015.

Currently, the Corporation has attracted Samara state agricultural academy for conducting expert estimate of the project.

- I don’t want to leave a positive note, but I should ask you about difficulties related to the current geopolitical and macroeconomic situation. “War of sanctions”, difficulties with funding and in an addition a currency crisis… How do all these factors complicate your work?

-It is obvious that all problems mentioned above have an impact on Corporation activity. On the one hand, the decision of the management of Central Bank on increasing the key rate that, according to them, was a choice between “bad and very bad scenarios” will inevitably raise the rates on investment loans. This, definitely, will complicate our work. Sanctions for strategic banks made the foreign funding extremely difficult, not to say impossible. Plummeting of dollar and euro rates during the straining of geopolitical relations increase the cost implementation of our plans and makes it more difficult. After all, the share of foreign equipment and machinery in our projects is quite high.

What can I say? It a bad timing, but I would like to remember that the Corporation was incorporated and started its activity at the peak of financial crisis of 2008-2009 and endured the suffering and hardships, let say, “in a cradle”. It was extremely useful experience. Now we count on and pin hopes on several factors. First of all, we hope for the soon stabilization of financial and currency markets, the possible consequence of which could be a reduction of key rate and loan interest rates of project funding. Second of all, now we are studying the possibilities of import substitution, particularly, watch carefully at the national producers of agricultural equipment. Thirdly, we believe in the support of the state and strategic banks for the funding of long-term investment projects – it is referred to the state guarantees, for example, in order to secure fulfillment of obligations on investment loans, to the subsidizing of interest rates and other investment expenses etc. Fourthly, we enhance the search and attraction of co-investors to implementation of our projects. And the last thing I would like to say is that our experience shows that in such difficult times it is important to concentrate on the search and detailed development of the projects that may become growth drivers for regional economy at the end of a crisis, because sooner or later the economy will recover.