OREANDA-NEWS. A preliminary road-show to demonstrate the project to construct the stretch of high-speed rail between Moscow - Kazan was held in Moscow on 4 March 2014.

The event was attended by over 400 people from 150 companies, including representatives from transnational industrial and construction corporations, such as DB International, Siemens, Alstom, Hyundai, Mitsubishi Electric, Vinci, Bombardier, Vossloh, Systra, Italferr, Bouygue, Salini-Impregilo, Finmeccanica, Thales and others.

Financial institutions were represented by delegates from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, UBS, Deutsche Bank, FitchRatings, Sberbank, the Eurasian Development Bank, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, VTB, Gazprombank, the Non-State Pension Fund Blagosostoyanie (Welfare) and others.

Representatives of OJSC Skorostnye Magistrali (High Speed Lines), a subsidiary of Russian Railways, as well as independent consultants presented to potential investors and participants the project's legal, organisational and financial model and spoke about the design and construction specifics of the Moscow - Kazan high-speed ??line. OJSC Skorostnye Magistrali provided potential investors with comprehensive information about the objectives and expected results of the high-speed ??lines project and its socio-economic effects, current status and commercial potential.

“This is the first major infrastructure project in Russia's railway industry which is being implemented through a public-private partnership. For the first time in modern railway construction, we are using the concession mechanism, which should contribute to an effectiveness interaction of all participants in the project,” said Alexander Misharin, First Vice-President of Russian Railways. He added that to date, the project has undergone a substantial expert evaluation in terms of the effectiveness of its implementation for the state.

“We support the project and understand its contribution not only to the organisation of transportation links and improving transport accessibility, but in general to the country's overall economic development”, said Deputy Transport Minister Alexei Tsydenov, who also noted that the project's plan were very advanced and developed.

The key competencies and roles of the project participants, the function of the concessionaire and sources of return on investment were presented by the partner VEGASLEX and the Chairman of the Board at InfraONE, Albert Yeganyan.

A special part of the event consisted of two parallel sessions on the project's construction and technical side on the one hand and on the investment and legal aspects on the other. The sessions covered issues such as the expected volume of orders, materials and resources, the localisation of production and the construction technology, the qualification requirements that will be made on the design and construction organisations, the concession mechanism, the project's legal framework, the concession tender, investment payback, the repayment of borrowed funds, the expected financing conditions and opportunities for the financial community.

Many participants noted that the event was important for understanding the prospects for participating in the development of high-speed railway lines in Russia. Based on this information, businesses will make a decision on establishing concessions and participating in the Moscow - Kazan high-speed ??lines project. At the moment, 10 consortia have already been formed which are ready to continue negotiations on the project's joint implementation.