OREANDA-NEWS. March 01, 2010. In the beginning of February, Valeri Belokon, the principal shareholder of Baltic International Bank, and The Prince of Wales have established an international joint venture PF Urban. The London-based company will be practicing ecological ways of urban planning, design and construction based upon the concept of sustainable development, reported the press-centre of Baltic International Bank.

The newly formed company is jointly owned by The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment (HRH The Prince of Wales, Founder and President), the Latvian joint stock company Hercogiste (Valeri Belokon, a shareholder, the Chairperson of the Council), the Kuwaiti Jana Real Estate Company (Sheikha Fadia Al-Sabah, CEO, a member of the Kuwaiti Royal family).

PF Urban intends to provide services to construction companies, owners of sizeable real estate properties, owners of neglected industrial areas, and companies and funds which invest in construction. Beyond that PF Urban has already taken over a number of projects previously initiated by The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment. Some staff members have departed from the Foundation to join the PF Urban’s team. PF Urban is planning to carry on business in Europe, the Americas, and the Arab countries.

The joint stock company Hercogiste was incorporated and registered in April 2009. The company’s paid-in share capital totals LVL 2 Mio. Valeri Belokon owns a 50 percent stake. Vilori Belokon, the Vice Chairperson, holds the other 50 percent interest in the company.

The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment (formerly The Prince of Wales’s Institute of Architecture until 2001) is an educational charity established in 1986. The Foundation has a vast amount of experience and expertise in architecture, urban planning and design, eco-friendly construction and urban regeneration. Presently, the Foundation is involved in revamping and transforming London’s Chinatown. Current projects include the regeneration of a neighbourhood in Rose Town - a suburb of Jamaica’s capital city Kingston, construction of ecological homes, and many other similar projects.

Today, sustainable development principles are applied to energy, agriculture,   transport, design practice and other fields. Sustainable development is a socio-economic model which implies special care for the protection of the environment accompanied with reasonable use of natural resources. The concept of sustainable development essentially means keeping current development within sustainable levels, thus protecting the needs and resources of both the environment and human population, in the longer term.