OREANDA-NEWS. April 26, 2011. Pulkovo Airport reconstruction project was focused at the meeting in Smolny chaired by Saint-Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko. VTB bank CEO and Board Chairman Andrey Kostin and General Manager of Northern Capital Gateway, LLC Sergey Edmin participated in the meeting.

One of the main issues discussed at the meeting was the rapid transit from the new passenger terminal of Pulkovo Airport to the city. By start-up in 2013, air terminal capacity will count 13-14 million passengers per year, which will need relevant transport infrastructure .In this view, VTB bank, as one of the members of Pulkovo reconstruction consortium, participates in tender for construction and operation of Western High-Speed Diameter and considers a possibility to participate in construction of above-ground express line and electric train railway.

Under the trilateral concession agreement in the framework of public-private partnership for Airport development between Saint-Petersburg Government, LLC Northern Capital Gateway and JSC Pulkovo Airport, April 29, 2010 LLC NCG started operational management of Saint-Petersburg Airport.

The participants of international consortium LLC Northern Capital Gateway are VTB bank (57.5%), Fraport AG (leading international hub operator, 35.5%) and Horizon Air Investments (subsidiary of Greek construction and investment conglomerate Copelouzos Group, 7% of consortium shares).

Modernization and reconstruction of Pulkovo Airport is the first large-scale infrastructure project implemented in the framework of public-private partnership with involvement of international financial organizations, without state subsidies or guarantees.