Created with Support from VEB.RF and Sber, New Airport Terminal Begins Operation in Mineralnye Vody

Created with financial support from VEB.RF and Sber, a new domestic terminal is now open for business at Mineralnye Vody Airport. The new terminal in Mineralnye Vody began handling regular passenger flights. The first customers were passengers of an Aeroflot flight from Moscow.

The new terminal will improve passenger service quality and put enhanced air mobility in place in the region. Jet bridges are used for disembarking and boarding aircraft. The new terminal uses modern passenger service and baggage handling systems. Its area is 28,000 square metres.

“The Stavropol Territory is known as the gateway to the North Caucasus, including due to Mineralnye Vody Airport. Today, this is a new page in the airport’s history. The new terminal is one of the largest infrastructure facilities that have been built in the Stavropol Territory over the past half-century. The opening of the terminal will give us a modern level of passenger service and comfort, along with new business opportunities for the hospitality industry in the Stavropol Territory and our neighbours. It would be impossible to complete such a large project without support from the Russian President, without help from the Russian Government, without the involvement of reliable partners and builders. Speaking for residents of the Stavropol Territory, I would like to thank everyone who helped to make this project happen,” said Stavropol Territory Governor Vladimir Vladimirov.

“Tourism in the North Caucasus is progressing impressively. Mountain resorts are increasingly popular holiday destinations: tourist flow at Elbrus and Arkhyz, built by our development institute, has hit an all-time record; the new Mamison cluster opened in March. A further 20 facilities are to be put into operation in addition to the region’s existing health and destination resorts, including projects of major hotel chains. Under a concessional lending programme, we have already opened two new hotels in the Stavropol Territory and one in Karachay-Cherkessia; and under a programme to subsidise modular hotels, nearly 1,800 hotel rooms are now available to guests in our federal district. The growth of tourism in the North Caucasian Federal District makes it necessary to accelerate the development of the transport system. The opening of the new terminal in Mineralnye Vody, which was built using the Project Financing Factory mechanism, will boost the region’s tourist flow and will make the region more attractive to investors,” said Maxim Reshetnikov, Russian Minister of Economic Development.

This large-scale investment project uses the Project Financing Factory mechanism (under the supervision of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development). With capital investment totalling 15.3 billion roubles, the syndicated loan provided by the financial partners is 12.24 billion roubles for a term of 12.5 years. An amount of 3.67 billion roubles comes from VEB.RF.

Igor Shuvalov, Chairman, VEB.RF: “The country’s largest airports at the cutting edge of technology have been built with financing from VEB.RF. The facility at Mineralnye Vody Airport is the 15th terminal opened with the support of VEB.RF and our financing mechanism. The decision to start the airport project in the current situation under the Project Financing Factory programme despite such a high key interest rate is perhaps twice as valuable as, for example, what we did two years ago, when the interest rate was not that high. The Factory is a syndicate led by VEB.RF. We are the syndicate arranger, but money comes mainly from commercial banks.”

Herman Gref, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board, Sberbank: “Sber makes substantial investments in Russia’s transport infrastructure, from the construction of the Moscow–Saint Petersburg high-speed railway to the creation of new airports in different parts of our big country. Measures to develop the transport network have a key role in boosting tourism and business activity. For us, this is part of systematic work on modernising our country’s airports. The Government and VEB.RF have provided us with an effective mechanism for financing significant investment projects, and Sber is actively supporting them. Sber is involved with projects to build and rehabilitate the airports in Murmansk and Gorno-Altaisk; the Magadan airport terminal is already open for business. The new terminal in Mineralnye Vody will make flights to southern Russia more comfortable and will make this beautiful land more accessible to visitors. Such projects will bring more comfort to travel across Russia and will stimulate economic growth in the regions, eventually enabling Russians to live a better life.”

“The new terminal of Mineralnye Vody Airport is a construction project showing how synergy among the government, the private sector and financial institutions can be strategically productive for the entire country. We appreciate the value of what Sber and VEB.RF contributed under the Project Financing Factory programme, providing us with a resilient, professional and flexible financial model. A new terminal is now accessible to passengers at Mineralnye Vody Airport in the North Caucasus, which meets high quality standards and works to promote economic and social development in the whole of the North Caucasus,” said Roman Trotsenko, a founder of Novaport.

Mineralnye Vody Airport, formally Mikhail Lermontov International Airport, is of great importance not only to the Stavropol Territory but also to the North Caucasian Federal District. This region in the North Caucasus is showcased by Mineralnye Vody resorts remarkable for their unique recreational resources, natural climatic and therapeutic benefits. The number of tourists looking for recreation or health services at Stavropol resorts grows each year. The new domestic air terminal has a unique appearance: its architecture and design are inspired by two main elements, namely mountains and water. The translucent structure is made of energy-efficient low-emission materials.

The new terminal is expected to increase the designed number of passengers served at Mineralnye Vody Airport to 5 million per year. The airport terminal project will provide employment for as many as 100 people, as well as creating business for allied industries.