Italian developer of Disneyland Paris reaches the bridge over the Kama river in Tatarstan?
Already five investors, including the largest Italian company Pizzarotti, have become interested in still abstract infrastructure project near the village of Sokolki in Tatarstan
As it became known to Realnoe Vremya, the Italian company Pizzarotti, which built Disneyland Paris, is interested in the project for construction of a bridge across the Kama river near the village of Sokolka in Tatarstan. But there are another four investors snapping at its heels. Meanwhile, the infrastructure project itself is being at the stage of possible work start on land planning.
There are already five investors looking at the bridge in Sokolka
The ranks of investors interested in the construction of a new bridge over the Kama river in the village of Sokolka have grown. As Minister of Transport and Road Management of Tatarstan Lenar Safin told Realnoe Vremya, at least four investors, in addition to Eurasian Development Bank, have expressed a desire to become a partner in implementation of one of the largest infrastructure projects in Tatarstan.
''Of course, there is a number of suggestions — the Centre for Project Finance is ready to participate in this project, as well as the Eurasian Development Bank, VTB Bank, Vnesheconombank, and Italian partners have reached us – it is the company Pizzarotti. Therefore, we will consider all options, but I do not exclude that there may be other solutions. The project is priority, and we are being engaged in it,'' assured the interlocutor of the edition.
However, it is still a long time before the project implementation, Safin says. Last week, President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov at the I Forum of the Volga Federal District on public-private partnership 'Investments in infrastructure' stated that it has been conducted only a bridge feasibility study so far. As the minister of transport and road economy of Tatarstan explained to our edition, the project feasibility study was finished already in 2016. This year it is planned to decide with the territory where the construction will take place.
''The feasibility study was completed last year by the St. Petersburg Institute. This year we plan to start work on planning the territory. Accordingly, within the plan it should be identified to whom exactly the land belongs, to reserve it for further construction,'' said Safin.
According to him, they have yet to determine a financial model, and then design work is to begin. The interlocutor does not reveal the time of commencement and completion of the construction yet.
Adventures of Italians in Russia
If everything is clear with the Eurasian Cooperation Bank, Centre for Project Finance, VTB and Vneshprombank, then the Italian company Pizzarotti interested in the project is little known in the region. We are talking about the largest Italian construction group Impresa Pizzarotti & C. S.p.A. The company is engaged in construction of infrastructure, including bridges, roads, tunnels, airports and health care facilities. Among the successful projects of the Italians there are Disneyland and the tunnel in Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
The concern is entering the Russian market with several infrastructure projects. As reported by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), in June 2016 the fund together with Gazprombank and Pizzarotti signed an agreement on public-private partnership in the presence of President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Renzi. The agreement provided that the RDIF with the Italian company will act as investors of the project for design, construction and technical operation of medical-rehabilitation building of the municipal hospital No. 40 in St. Petersburg. The role of Gazprombank in the project consists in advising, organization of financing and lending.
In May 2017, Pizzarotti signed another agreement in the framework of PPP — this time for construction of two health care facilities in Chelyabinsk Oblast. In addition, in April of this year it became known that the Italian company won the tender for the construction of an amusement park at VDNKh in Moscow.
Bridge in the future
Already a year and a half ago Lenar Safin told that in 2017 it could begin implementation of the project for the construction of a bridge across the Kama river near the village of Sokolka. The minister estimated the construction of a motorway with the bridge at more than 50 billion rubles.
In March of this year, the Federal Road Transport Agency of Russia reported that it expected an application of the Republic of Tatarstan for provision of additional financial support for the construction of roads and bridges within public-private partnerships. In July, Deputy Minister of Transport and Road Economy of Tatarstan Artyom Chukin explained to Realnoe Vremya that the application would be filed after they developed a financial model of the project and concluded an agreement with the investor.
''But in order to reach an agreement with the investor, we need to work out all the financial issues of the project: what investments will be, how much the investor is ready to invest in this project, how do they asses it,'' Chukin commented.
The construction of the bridge is planned in the framework of the largest transportation project of Tatarstan on transformation of the entire infrastructure of the Kama river region, which was presented to the public at the Gaidar Forum in January 2016. That time it was said that the development of the Kama territory was hindered due to traffic congestion problem and low traffic capacity.