Representatives of VEB.RF, the National PPP Development Center and member companies of the MEDEF, France’s leading network of entrepreneurs, have had an online meeting to discuss the joint implementation of infrastructural projects in Russia.
“Cooperation between Russia and France is now on the rise. We can see how successfully business associations of the two countries cooperate with each other. As the largest development institution in Russia, VEB.RF pays great attention to developing the country’s infrastructure. PPPs have an important role in this process. Despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, the national market for PPP projects is continuing to grow,” VEB.RF’s Deputy Chairperson and Member of the Board Svetlana Yachevskaya said.
One of the measures to promote infrastructure investment, including encouraging foreign investment, will be Russia’s national project assessment and certification system that is being developed by VEB.RF and the National PPP Development Center with support from AECOM. According to Svetlana Yachevskaya, the implementation of the system will attract foreign investors, including from France.
The MEDEF members representing the investor community during the meeting expressed interest in Russian IT, healthcare and rail transport projects.
Yves-Thibault de Silguy, Vice-Chairman of the MEDEF, said that he was optimistic about the future prospects of the Russian assessment system and hopeful of continued cooperation. “We can become good partners in the future in the area of ​​PPPs and work on ambitious megaprojects if Russia successfully implements the principles for quality infrastructure investment and makes PPP projects more transparent and accessible to foreign capital,” he emphasised.
“We’ll be happy to continue effective communication with our French partners, striving to talk about existing obstacles and opportunities to attract new investment,” Svetlana Yachevskaya said in conclusion.
The representative of the National PPP Development Center at the meeting gave a detailed description of the infrastructure market status, measures to support the market, and PPP projects. Investment in Russian-based PPP projects totals 70 billion US dollars. To support the launch of regional PPPs amid the economic difficulties caused by the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, VEB.RF and the National PPP Development Center came up with a rescue plan. As many as about 340 project initiatives were selected for a total of 13 billion US dollars; the most promising of them are to receive assistance with project structuring and subsequent support until commercial close.