‘Let’s cross the fingers so as not to jinx it’
The authorities of the Vysokogorsky district, Tatarstan, are waiting for the arrival of a large investor with 80 billion rubles for processing agricultural products and milk. It is possible that the Ak Bars Holding Company may become one
Industrial businesses with total investments of almost 1 billion rubles escaped from Kazan to the suburban Vysokogorsky district, which is considered to be the “quiet haven of investors”. Kazanselmash, Polygran PC, Maxiton, Smart Bitumen, Energospecineering and many others have all moved from the capital of Tatarstan and are expanding here," Ravil Khisamutdinov, the head of Vysokaya Gora, told with hidden notes of pride about how the economy of the district was changing. At the Municipal Hour in the Investment Development Agency, he brought the idea of how to convert the former dispensary into a sanatorium, and invited the businesses to the industrial parks of the Monsoon Group under construction. Most of all, the authorities are waiting for the arrival of a mysterious investor with 80 billion rubles, which is 4 times higher than the accumulated investments. Read the details in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
“Prices are lower here, and the capital is nearby”
The Vysokaya Gora authorities have built an investment strategy based on the outright victory over Kazan rivals. “Show on the map the place where you want to build, and we will agree” — this is how businessmen who began to flock to Kazan from all regions of the country are lured. Proximity to the capital, low rental rates compared to the capital, cheap land and friendly attitude — this is a simple “gentleman's kit”. Of course, sweet persuasion works. By the way, the head of Vysokaya Gora came to the meeting with boxes of branded sweets from a local manufacturer, which pleased the head of the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency, Talia Minullina.
“The first request they make at the agency is Kazan or Alabuga. This is a standard request from investors," Talia Minullina shared, opening the Municipal Hour. “But this is not always possible, and then the choice is made in favour of the Vysokogorsky district. Prices are lower here, and the capital is nearby — this gives positive impulses for business development," she believes.
The head of the Investment Development Agency is confident that this advantage will play an important role in the development of the suburban area for a long time. The Vysokogorsky district took the 6th place in the rating of socio-economic development for the first half of 2024, rising by 11 positions. VTR is expected to amount to 44 billion rubles, the volume of investments in the economy amounted to 21 billion rubles.
What kind of bonuses does the close proximity to Kazan bring? Firstly, people are increasingly moving here for permanent residence. According to Ravil Khisamutdinov, over the past 5 years the population has grown by 9,000 to 61,000 people. However, these are only those who have registered and received a residence permit here. Most of the residents live without registration. According to the head of state, 200,000 people actually live in the area.
“The most significant year was 2023, when the population increased by more than 2,000 people," he said.
However, the secret of the explosive growth is simple — there was intensive construction of multi-apartment housing, which has been banned this year. The residential complexes Atmosphere and White Alleys is about to be commissioned. Despite the ban, with an annual plan of 180,000 square metres, 200,000 square metres of housing have already been commissioned here (we are talking about self-build). No new permits are issued for the multi-unit apartment building, Khisamutdinov assured. One of the disadvantages is that every day 20,000 residents travel to Kazan and return back. This is a ready-made workforce that can be left in place, the head believes.
How Marat Aizatullin loads Vysokaya Gora
Secondly, medium and small businesses are fleeing to the suburbs from Kazan.
“Historically, the area is agricultural, but in recent years small and medium-sized businesses have begun to migrate here," Ravil Khisamutdinov shared. “In the last two years, many industrial companies from Kazan have transferred their business here. As a result, the share of industry in the VTP has increased to 37%, the rest fell on wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, transportation, and storage.
After the arrival of a businessman from Moscow, a kind of “mebelgrad” grew up here. His company Soyuz-M supplies furniture worth 5 billion rubles to the Galiaskar Kamal Theatre under construction. In return, it invests 2 billion rubles in new hotels, as well as 1 billion in the construction of a new golf course. In total, about 20 manufacturers of office, school and home furniture work here, Ravil Khisamutdinov said. And a cluster of manufacturers of building materials has grown nearby.
“There are many manufacturers of building mixes — plaster, putty, tile glue, electrical switchboard equipment," the head of the district listed.
However, this is not surprising, because the head of the Ministry of Construction, Marat Aizatullin, has been appointed curator of investment projects.
A quiet harbor
However, industrialists are moving themselves. So, Kazanselmash has developed a production building worth 100 million, Polygran has launched a new line for the production of cable products. SafPlast is waiting for the transfer of the land plot for the construction of the second plant and is ready to invest 100 million rubles. A powder paint factory worth 220 million rubles has been launched — by the way, Pozis paints refrigerators with it. Smart Bitumen has opened the production of polymer bitumen, investments — 300 million rubles. The entrepreneur Zagit Nogmanov also moved his factory here — he is building a production of feed flour.
“In the last two years, companies that rented space in Kazan began to move. They acquire land plots, and we help them transfer from one category to another," the head of the district said.
In total, 19 companies from 11 regions of Russia invested in the district, among them — Krasnodar Krai, St. Petersburg, Sverdlovsk, Primorsky Krai, Tomsk, Bashkortostan, Talia Minullina said. The investors themselves call the new place an “investor's safe haven”.
80 billion from a mysterious investor and VEB.RF
Monsoon Group has decided to invest 69 billion rubles in the construction of two industrial parks. We are talking about the agro-industrial park Agropolis and the industrial park Vysokogorsky. According to Leysan Farrakhova, own funds and residents' funds have been attracted for construction, but rental rates promise to remain affordable.
“Specialists from the operating management companies from other sites of the republic were lured to this management company. There are 100 industrial parks in the republic, specialists with experience move from one site to another. And there is also reason to believe that the project will be successful from the point of view of management," added Talia Minullina.
Most of all, the authorities are waiting for the arrival of a mysterious investor with 80 billion rubles, which is 4 times higher than the accumulated investments. “Let's cross the fingers so as not to jinx it," the head said, refusing to name the investor and the location. And he offered investors to convert the former dispensary into a sanatorium.
VEB.RF changed its mind about selling the Biektau warehouse complex, which became its property after the bankruptcy of a local investor. The asset operator decided to expand its capacity, the head of the Vysokogorsky district told Realnoe Vremya.
“Today they have allocated 50,000 square metres are subject to repair for the design and restoration of areas that have collapsed," he said.
The anchor tenant is the DNS home appliance and electronics network. In addition, the plans include the development of a vacant lot.
“We are no longer talking about selling. There's not enough space there today. It is fully loaded," the head of the district said.