Tver Region Governor Igor Rudenya, together with VEB.RF’s Deputy Chairman Artyom Dovlatov and Russian Buses – GAZ Group’s Managing Director Vladimir Demidov, were shown the new fleet of buses in Tver today. The buses will be put into operation on 3 February 2020 as part of efforts to introduce a new business model for public transit into the Tver Region. Igor Rudenya, Artyom Dovlatov and Vladimir Demidov also visited the infrastructure facilities of Verkhnevolzhskoye ATP, a commercial vehicle fleet operator.
Artyom Dovlatov, Deputy Chairman, VEB.RF: “This is now the largest completed project to develop public transport in the regions. The project took a unified approach, which is favoured by VEB.RF: creating a single passenger transport operator; introducing the most efficient system of working with carriers, namely gross cost contracts; and providing a fleet of nearly 500 modern buses. This resulted from effective measures jointly taken by the regional authorities, businesses and VEB.RF. The project will make local residents feel comfortable and safe on passenger routes.”
The new system will begin operation in the region’s capital city and the Kalininsky District. The local community will be served with more than 470 buses, most of which are medium- and large-capacity vehicles.
On 3 February, 115 buses will begin operation on 39 routes. An additional 16 routes and 143 buses will come into operation on 10 February, followed by 17 routes and 196 vehicles on 17 February and 13 routes and 117 buses on 27 February. The buses will run every 4 minutes on average, from 5 a.m. until midnight.
The new buses have uniform styling. They are Euro 5-compliant low-floor vehicles fitted with modern navigation equipment, contactless fare payment devices, HVAC systems, and everything necessary for passengers with mobility impairment.
VEB.RF provided over 3 billion roubles in financing for the supplied vehicles. The lease agreements were signed by the VEB.RF Group and Verkhnevolzhskoye ATP.
During the visit to the vehicle fleet operator, Igor Rudenya, Artyom Dovlatov and Vladimir Demidov were also shown the repair shops, the dispatcher’s room, the pre-trip medical examination room, and the traffic safety engineer’s office.
The old public transit buses will be phased out during February. Compliance with timetables and transport quality requirements will be supervised by a public agency, Tver Region Transport Organiser.
Syndicate of Lenders Begins Financing Nakhodka’s Natural Gas Processing Plant Construction
The syndicate of lenders (VEB.RF and VTB Bank), along with the Far East Development Fund (part of the VEB.RF Group), has provided financing for the construction investment project of Nakhodka Fertilizer Plant in Nakhodka, Primorye Territory. On receiving prepayment, the foreign contractor, China Chengda Engineering Co., Ltd., has already started work under the EPC contract. Nakhodka Fertilizer Plant is to work at full capacity before the end of 2023.
The total design capacity of the project’s first phase is 1.8 million tonnes of methanol per year. Natural gas for production will be supplied from Sakhalin fields. The facility’s production processes and products will meet the strictest environmental standards.
The project is financed by the VEB.RF and VTB Bank syndicate on the principles of the Project Financing Factory. In addition, the Far East Development Fund allocated 7 billion roubles for the construction project, and some of the funds have already been disbursed to the project initiator as part of the first drawdown.
When completed, the project will create over 1,500 highly professional jobs in the Primorye Territory. The plant will bring about a massive increase in tax revenue, improve the efficiency of using natural resources and strengthen Russia’s position in the Asia-Pacific markets.