OREANDA-NEWS. September 23, 2008. The “round table” on Azov City matters, which took place within the framework of the investment forum in Sochi, displayed again that Rostov and Krasnodar regions do not see the development of the area eye to eye. Kuban`s administration is poised to form the gaming zone as a separate project while Don`s officials are inclined to look at it as at an element of a plan on developing the Azov coast and adjacent territories. The controversies are aggravated by the fight of two regions for investors.

Addressing the “round table” participants, the head of Krasnodar region`s Department on Architecture and Urban Construction Yuri Ryssin was generous with promises. According to him, Kuban has already allotted 500 million rubles from its budget for creating the infrastructure of the would-be Las Vegas, and the first gambling facilities and hotels will start their operations next summer. “The creation of the infrastructure is in progress, and there are no doubts that they will have been completed by the set deadline,” stated Mr Ryssin. He emphasized that Azov City is supposed to become, in the long-run, a full-scale resort with its own seaport, railroad spur, and business aviation airport. “It will be a new town with the population of 60 to 100 thousand people; at the first stage it will be capable of receiving up to 5 thousand tourists,” noted the chief architect.

Rostov region`s Minister of Economics Vladimir Barteniev was less optimistic. “We commissioned “BDO Unicon” analysts with the feasibility study of the project, and our concerns turned out to be justified. The study showed that Azov City would have little feasibility as a separate project. For it to be efficient from the viewpoint of economics, a certain inflow of tourists is necessary, and providing this inflow is a priority. Therefore Rostov`s Azov City is not a separate project but an element of Priazovie recreation zone, assuming the development of the entire coastline and adjacent territories, which will secure the number of tourist we need,” said the Minister.

Discrepancies in the regions` approaches to the project, however, were not limited by the concept of the gaming zone development. Requirements to investors and construction timeframes turned out to be a stumbling block. In particular, Krasnodar region`s major condition to investors is completion of hotel and casino construction by July 1st, 2009. “There is the Federal Law regulating the timeframes of the project implementation – as of July 1st next year gambling facilities shall start operating in the gaming zone. Our target is to create all conditions for it,” remarked Mr Ryssin.

Don`s authorities, on the contrary, gave the priority not to the construction timeframes but to investment amounts. “We have required that the investors should just start the construction by July 1st, 2009. The completion of the works is planned by the companies which won land plots in Azov City for 2009 – 2011,” noted Vladimir Barteniev, adding that the Federal Law does not specify the timeframes of putting facilities in operation.