Talia Minullina ‘sells’ packaging of investors’ projects in Tatarstan

So that Tatarstan will initiate investments itself and dictate its conditions

As Realnoe Vremya has found out, the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency (TIDA) will order consultations to create a public investment in projects via public and private partnership. It is ready to pay 17 million rubles from the republican budget.

The agency sets several tasks for the contractor. They will have to be performed in three stages and take no more than 210 days.

“Today in Russia there are just isolated cases of the full exercise of the right of public initiative within Federal Law No. 224 (Editor’s note: on public and private partnership, municipal and private partnership in Russia). All these cases were implemented only via outsourcing. By the way, when preparing a private initiative, all investors also resort to outsourcing. This means that requirements for document preparation are strict enough. In fact, we are the first to ‘sell’ the packaging of projects so that the republic itself will initiate investments, dictate project terms and conditions of participation,” head of the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency Talia Minullina told Realnoe Vremya.

The signing of at least five agreements, including direct agreements with financing agencies, “promising projects” approved by TIDA providing an expansion of Tatarstan’s export capabilities and/or a reduction in Russia and Tatarstan’s dependence on imports must become the result of consultations.

The documents, as the terms of reference read, must be signed in the way legislation on public and private partnership and concession agreements envisage it:

“The terms of reference factors in the contractor’s obligation to prepare sets of documents for at least five public and private partnership projects in different sectors, which will allow expanding them in the future. Also, the attraction of private investors who will finance the projects is an important condition of the tender. The services of preparation of such documents will be paid only after public and private partnership projects are implemented,” Minullina explained.

Achieve a fall in import dependence

Firstly, it will be necessary to determine priority projects via public and private partnership and concession agreement. The Tatarstan Investment Development Agency requires focusing on low carbon neutrality projects in pharmaceutics, agriculture, the production of new materials and semiconductors.

The agency chose their goals too. First of all, it is to provide the promising research and development and socio-economic development of the republic. Secondly, to increase Tatarstan’s export capabilities and/or reduce the dependence of the republic and the country in general on imports. The projects must mandatorily be new. They cannot repeat the ideas that have already been implemented or are planned to appear in Tatarstan.

At the first stage, the contractor will have to look into policy documents of Tatarstan, strategic initiatives of Russia’s socio-economic development through 2030 and other available information that will help with choosing priority spheres for promising public and private partnership projects.

The list of promising sectors to launch initiatives has to be made considering the positive experience of projects implemented in regions. The list must be approved by TIDA. The financial aspect is discussed with the agency.

TIDA, in turn, promises to help with the job by indicating the necessity of specific projects in Tatarstan. A list of potential projects is prepared taking this information into account. It is planned to create a task force to achieve the goal. After approving the final list of promising projects, the contractor has to start making road maps of key measures.

The first stage will cost nearly 697,000 rubles. TIDA gives just 30 days since the signing of the contract to do the task. If the agency has remarks, the contractor will have to eliminate the imperfections in two days and then provide improved documentation.

Juridical conditions of agreements to be discussed in the Tatarstan government

At the second stage, the contractor must prepare key conditions for the implementation of projects. The contractor will have to do the given task within 50 days after the first stage ends.

Also, the contractor will have to prepare top-level financial models of approved projects and choose priority options of financing within public and private partnership. What is more, the contractor must determine and approve the approach to distributing projects of key financially important risks and a compensatory mechanism between project participants.

Legal issues will also have to be considered at the second stage. Particularly to determine key juridical conditions for future agreements, considering consolidated financial indicators of projects.

At the second stage, the task force will be created in the Tatarstan government for discussion. The task force will discuss the project of important juridical conditions of agreements regarding every project.

At the final phase of the second stage, the contractor will have to prepare presentations for every approved project. It is planned to use them in preliminary talks with potential investors.

The second stage was assessed at 1,9 million rubles.

Selection of potential investors and signing of agreements

The third final stage will be the most expensive one, it is planned to allocate over 14 million rubles for it. At the same time, it is the longest stage too — the contractor is given 80 days to do the job, 20 days are given to consider its performance by the Investment Development Agency.

At the third stage, potential investors will be chosen. It is planned to discuss the main conditions of projects with them.

Before the discussion, it is necessary to make a priority list of potential investors and then send them key conditions of projects within preliminary talks. Their discussion with potential investors is also the contractor’s duty.

After the talks, there must be created a table of key remarks and recommendations for the text of key conditions of agreements and financial parameters of projects to discuss them later with the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency. In case of remarks from the agency, the contractor must update the version of key conditions.

Then, it is required to prepare at least five projects of tender documentation, recommendations for requirements for bidders and basic recommendations to host a tender indicating key risks of the public part. The contractor also must accompany the procedure of launching a public initiative.

The final touch is that the contractor must accompany the signing of agreements and the signing of the direct agreement with the financing organisation, in other words, to commercially and financially finalise at least five projects among the projects approved by the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency.