Vladimir Potanin (left) has signed a deal with North Caucasian officials to put $1 billion into a new ski resort on Mount Elbrus.
Photo: Valery Levitin
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Interros to Put $1 Bln into Ski Resort
Vladimir Potanin’s Interros has signed a deal with North Caucasian officials, pledging to put $1 billion into a new ski resort on Mount Elbus. Another industrial giant, TMK, is building a $1.1 billion worth resort in the same area.
Last fall, President Vladimir Putin urged Russian business leaders to invest into the country’s republics in Northern Caucasus, triggering declarations of interest from Alfa Bank, UES of Russia and VTB. Pipe producers TMK and its chief executive Dmitry Pumpyansky were the first to announce a major project in the region, saying they were investing $1.1 billion in a new resort in Kabardino-Balkaria.
The second major tourism project is to be located in Kabardino-Balkaria as well. Interros President Vladimir Potanin and Kabardino-Balkaria’s President Arsen Kanokov signed a memo at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last weekend to build a ski resort on the north-western slope of Mount Elbrus. Interros feels quite secure about the investment, hoping to secure official support in building transport and energy infrastructure.
Interros is a conglomerate with large stakes in mining, metals, energy, finance, retail, real estate and other sectors. The company manages assets worth more than $30 billion.
From 30,000 to 50,000 people visit the Elbrus region every year, according to expert estimates. Half of the tourists go Alpine skiing. Those in the market note that current infrastructure is struggling to cater for an increasing tourist inflow. Analysts estimate that Interros’s ski resort will start turning profit in six years’ time.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 13, 2007
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