Investors are not happy with the infrastructure mega-projects of Saint Petersburg

The desire to return to the implementation of major infrastructure projects in the Smolny talking more than a year ago. In February last year was open acceptance of bids for design and construction of the Orlovsky Tunnel under the Neva (who does not know the problem of routing bridges Petersburg in the summer), and after 4 months at last year's St. Petersburg Economic Forum signed an agreement on its construction of the Neva Concession Company (NCC) . The next competition - for the construction of the Central region of the Western High Speed ​​Diameter (from the Ring Road will finally present the ring, passing the bay) - was announced already in 2011, the results of which will be announced in July. It so happened that, just recovering from the crisis, the government started talking about the reanimation of expensive transport projects. On the one hand, it is not surprising. "In 2011-2012, the state election heightened attention to the social and the most pressing issues, which include poor road network development, constraining economic growth and limits the mobility of the population", - says head of research at the company "Lenmontazhstroy" Dmitry Kumanovsky. On the other hand, economic efficiency, and hence the investment attractiveness of the majority of the projects at all obvious. An old friend is better. So, build, and then 30 years to exploit the Orlovsky Tunnel is "Neva Concession Company." Recall the Orlovsky Tunnel capacity 60 thousand vehicles per day should pass under the Neva River and connect the Central district with Krasnogvardiysky and Kalinin. It is expected that it will unload opening the road network of the city, in particular, will significantly reduce the time of motion from the center of St. Petersburg to the beltway. Project investor NCC until recently was a consortium of two well-known structures in Russia. On the basis of parity shares in the company owned by First Quantum Group Vitaly Yuzhilin and French Vinci, already involved in the implementation of another major concession - land route Moscow - St. Petersburg. First Quantum is now also no stranger to creating infrastructure projects. Since 2006, Group companies were building a specialized passenger port "Marine Facade" on reclaimed lands of Vasilevsky Island in St. Petersburg. The port was built to service the cruise and ferry lines connecting St. Petersburg and other European cities. City officials, who May 27 this year, officially became the owner of "Marine Facade", received the keys to the port from the President of the Management Company "Marine Facade" Kary-Niyazov, Shaukat, were pleased with the partnership. The port is also cost the taxpayers of 17.5 billion rubles-lei, of which 8 billion to pay the federal budget, the rest - the budget of St. Petersburg. The money the city paid the company, which has built the port, parts, buying bonds, "Marine Facade" emitted by investors of construction. Making sure that First Quantum was able to implement the first project, the city has entrusted to him next. The construction of the Orlovsky Tunnel initially caused a lot of questions. There were fears that the real cost of the underground facilities can be several times higher than claimed, for example due to the fact that, in place of tunneling depth of 27 meters of the Neva, which will require the construction of exits from the tunnel at a distance of 1.5 km from the coast. In addition, in this place a lot of quicksands, the passage through which require additional expenditures. And indeed the area of ​​building a more "sensitive" than the western end of Vasilevsky Island, near historical buildings, in particular, the Smolny Cathedral. Perhaps this is why "Neva Concession Company" was the only bidder for the project. While specific to work at the facility is not reached. Tunnel project was prepared only in April, a decision on it will not Glavgosexpertiza before mid-summer. Meanwhile, a consortium of investors have already split. Vinci decided to leave the building without an official explanation. Informal reasons formulated by experts and analysts. French decision could be dictated by both economic and political factors. On the one hand, it is far from clear that the St. Petersburg motorists will spend the money (now called the sum of 50 rubles) for overcoming the plot length of 1.5 km, on the other - the French were already in full by the Russian public, protesting against the laying of the highway through the Khimki the forest. Whatever it was, but the proportion of the French in the NCC bought First Quantum, which is now looking for new partners. Recently it became known that one of them will be Germany's Herrenknecht, specializing in the construction of tunnel boring machine. But the construction of the tunnel still does not seem essential. The argument that it will save motorists from the famous St. Petersburg problem - drawbridges, no longer works. Built nerazvodnoy cable-stayed bridge, another clock will appear in the crossing of the Western High Speed ​​Diameter, perhaps the most ambitious project in St. Petersburg. Contrary to Deripaska. WHSD at the time already passed through all stages of competitive procedures, except the last - the signing of the concession agreement with the investor. In this case the investor has been defined, it is a consortium of "Nevsky Meridian," which advocated the parent company holding "Basic Element" Oleg Deripaska. The winner was named in the summer of 2008. From this it becomes clear why no WHSD Deripaska has not started to build. WHSD a toll highway 46.6 km long, connecting the south of the city near the ring road and seaport of St. Petersburg, the western end of Vasilevsky Island in the north-west of St. Petersburg and highway "Scandinavia". In contrast to the Orlovsky Tunnel, the Western High Speed ​​Diameter, despite its cost (212 billion), it seems much more promising project. Its main task - to join ring road and radial federal highway with the St. Petersburg port. Will fail to attract an investor, the town began to build highway at its own expense, actively involving federal subsidies. As a result, to date, has built much of the southern section of WHSD connecting the port to the southern semicircle of the Ring Road and the construction of the northern segment between highway "Scandinavia" and Seaside Road. For this purpose already spent more than 35 billion rubles, but will still spent about 12 billion rubles. In addition, some funds amounting to 25 billion rubles will be recruited through the issuance of infrastructure bonds guaranteed by the government of Russia. The first part of this loan was posted last week. However, the idea of ​​the PPP government have not given up. Right to build the central section (the most expensive - it cost 127 billion rubles), the city still wants to play in the competition. Participants in this contest are already known, the winner will be announced in late July. One of the contenders - already mentioned above, First Quantum, more precisely, its subsidiary company "Terra Nova". At the competition he goes along with his longtime partner Andrei Kobzar, and a group of construction companies, including St. Petersburg, "Bridge Construction number 19, the Austrian A-Porr AG, Belgium Jan De Nul NV etc. Other contenders is also fairly well-known companies. This Samsung C & T, before this, however, on road projects in Russia has not worked, and a consortium consisting of VTB, "VTB Capital", "Northern Capital Gateway" (VVSS) and the French Bouygues Travaux Publics. Glenn Coughlin, partner, board member Salans, not surprising that the city returning to the scheme of the PPP. "In St. Petersburg, a great need for infrastructure, especially given the historically unfavorable location of roads, passing through the city center, not around it, as well as the fact that St. Petersburg is the largest city in the Baltic region and the largest Russian port," - he said. However, when compared to St. Petersburg to Moscow, the latter clearly has more financial resources to implement projects without the use of PPP schemes. Driving directions to fly. The third mega-project - the reconstruction of Pulkovo Airport, planned to build a new terminal - to be completed in 2013. While passengers arriving in St. Petersburg airport, large-scale construction in the vicinity do not see, but cramped and uncomfortable feel of an existing well. The problem is that the protracted process of obtaining a positive opinion Glavgosexpertiza. As long as the concessionaire "Northern Capital Gateway" (VVSS) say that the delay will not affect the timing of launch. Meanwhile, the declared parameters of the project also raises questions. The city believes that through Pulkovo 2014 must pass 14 million passengers a year. Now the airport can boast only 8.4 million passengers. Pulkovo problem is that this is a dead airport. Transit accounts for only 3% of passenger traffic. This, in turn, is associated with a small number of regional lines operating through the airport. Even if, as expected in VVSS, in 2011, he served by 9.5 million people, where will take another 4.5 million, still unclear. Apparently stalled another mega project - "Elevated Express". It should be noted that this name has recently disappeared from general use. Now officials operate more the term "light rail". It is planned that the LRT lines in the city will have several, but the first just connect the new terminal at Pulkovo, the Moscow railway station. However, competition for the construction of the line has not yet been announced. The problem is that the city has not yet been to lure manufacturers of rolling stock. And without them declare the contest meaningless. As a result, is now discussed the option of building a tram line through the budget, and the contest be held later, but only for the operation of the project. From Moscow to know better. As a result of the four above-mentioned projects chances for completion on schedule is only WHSD (according to the plan must be completed fully in 2015). The difference between this project is that it clearly has federal significance, but not exclusively urban. "St. Petersburg - a key city on the transit route from Europe. The planned transport corridor - a long-term project to be implemented from the beginning of the 2000s. The ultimate goal is to connect the Scandinavian ports, Port of St. Petersburg, the other terminals on the North-West of Russia into a single transport unit, in which a new route to Scandinavia, WHSD, ring road and new road to Moscow will be fast moving goods and people up to Far East "- says Dmitri Kumanovsky. Recently, it was the federal government began to play the largest role in determining priorities for funding of infrastructure projects. In the extended study, "Transportation and logistics center of St. Petersburg in 2010", commissioned by the Committee on Transport Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of St. Petersburg, says that this is partly due to the passivity of the city authorities. "The city did not even set about forming his views on the development strategy of the St. Petersburg Transport Hub as a whole", - stated in this study. Prepared a scheme of development in some areas. "In such a situation is very likely that the city, in the newly established Coordination Council for Development of Transport System in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region (which was headed by Transport Minister Igor Levitin) may be imposed by the federal logic of forming a strategy that may well will meet the federal interest, but not on all counts - the city ", - wrote the authors of the study. Meanwhile, in this approach, you can find pros. "You can nominate an infinite number of claims to the current leadership of the country, but one thing they have an alibi -" St. Petersburg "kremlezhiteli are not" Ivan, not remembering kinship ": to his native city, they are slightly better than the other towns and villages. Raise infrastructure across Russia entrusted to them - a hopeless task, even though Peter (after Moscow) will let the city, which is not ashamed to bring foreign guest "- sums up the Deputy Head of Evaluation Department of the Institute of Entrepreneurship Alex Shaskol'skaya. Major transport infrastructure projects in St. Petersburg Investor Project Cost, bn. Timeframes for the current state of South Western High Speed ​​Diameter and northern areas - budgets of Russia and St. Petersburg, the central section - the concessionaire is 212, including the Central area - 127 2004-2016 Open vehicular traffic on a site 5.7 km in length, being completed the entire southern region, is construction of the north. In July, the concessionaire will be determined by the central section of the Orlovsky Tunnel "Neva Concession Company" - shareholder First Quantum 47,8 2010-2016 project is in the approval of Glavgosexpertiza Marine Facade Structures of First Quantum 17,5 2006-2011 Passed St. Petersburg, commissioned Ring road 136 1998-2011 budget of the Russian Federation maintained, being completed individual isolation and Conventions complex defenses Petersburg Flood budget of the Russian Federation with the participation of foreign banks 109 1979-2011 Total ready, being completed tunnel under the navigation passes C1 Reconstruction and Maintenance Pulkovo Airport with the construction of a new terminal Northern Capital Gateway (shareholders: VTB Capital - 57,5%, Fraport AG - 35,5% and Horizon Air Investments -7%) Around 1 billion euros 2010-2013 Airport outsourced to the concessionaire, the project terminal - to the approval of light rail tram Glavgosexpertiza possible budget Petersburg 12-14 billion, but there is no final draft, so that amount may change in 2013 is preparing the concession tender