OJSC RZHD and Vnesheconombank to Conduct Comprehensive Expert Examination of the Sochi Hub Railways Reconstruction Projects

OJSC RZHD – Development of Railway Stations (100% subsidiary of OJSC RZHD) and State Corporation ‘Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)’ entered into an agreement on conducting comprehensive expert examination of projects to reconstruct railways  in Sochi, Loo, Khosta, Lazarevskoye, Tuapse. The agreement provides for raising funds to finance work on conducting expert examination.

The signing ceremony was held in the course of the 10^th Sochi 2011 International Investment Forum.

On behalf of OJSC RZHD – Development of Railway Stations the agreement was signed by Head of the Railway Stations Directorate - Branch of OJSC RZHD Sergei Abramov, on behalf of Vnesheconombank - by Vnesheconombank Deputy Chairman Mikhail Poluboyarinov.

The agreement was signed to build on the Memorandum signed in December of 2010 on cooperation between OJSC RZHD and Vnesheconombank in implementing infrastructure projects aimed at modernizing railway stations.

Since that time, OJSC RZHD – Development of Railway Stations has worked out business plans, financial models, organizational and legal forms of implementing projects on reconstructing 20 railway complexes in Russia. Vnesheconombank together with OJSC RZHD analyzed the projects to reconstruct and modernize these railway stations and made a decision to conduct comprehensive expert analysis of the projects.

Out of 20 projects the following projects were named as top-priority ones: Sochi, Loo, Khosta, Lazarevskoye, Tuapse, Orel, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Murmansk. As far as these projects are concerned strenuous efforts are being made to develop terms of their financing on the part of Vnesheconombank and work out options of their implementation that provide for engaging local authorities and private investors. The projects’ analysis is made through subcontracting marketing, technological and construction consultants who are highly experienced in developing railway complexes.

Projects to reconstruct the Sochi hub railway stations are implemented subject to the Program of Comprehensive Modernization and Development of Railway Stations up to the year 2015 as part of preparing OJSC RZHD’s infrastructure for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

Upon developing these projects emphasis is being placed on appropriate area zoning to ensure comfort for passenger and address security issues. Advanced technologies and materials are also to be used along with state-of –the art navigation and logistics. High priority is given to resources and energy saving. To this end, alternative sources of energy are planned to be used at the Sochi hub railway stations where solar cells are to be installed.

The Railway Stations Directorate – Branch of OJSC RZHD was established in 207 as part of implementing the program of railway transport structural reform. As of today, the Railway Stations Directorate is responsible for managing 348 railway stations servicing up to 85% of all long-haul passengers. In 2009, the Directorate started to implement a large-scale all-Russian program of modernizing and reconstructing railway stations and constructing high-technology transport hubs on their basis. The program provides for reconstructing and modernizing all the railway stations of the Directorate by 2015. The program’s implementation will make it possible not only to qualitatively increase transport availability in Russia’s regions but also give powerful impetus to socioeconomic development of Russian constituent entities as a whole. At the first stage, 81 railway stations will be modernized in the cities with the population of more than 200 thousand people including all the railway stations of the Moscow and Sochi hub, the Finland railway station in Saint Petersburg, the Vyborg train station as well as railway stations in 54 regional centers.

State Corporation ‘Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)' was established in 2007 subject to the Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On the Bank for Development " through reorganizing Vnesheconombank of the USSR. Vnesheconombank is a key instrument for pursuing the government's economic policy aimed at overcoming economic growth infrastructure restrictions, enhancing natural resources utilization efficiency, developing high-technology industries, unlocking production and innovation potential of small and medium-sized enterprises and providing support for industrial exports and services

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