Investors from EU Countries Supply More than Half of Investment into Sverdlovsk Region

Yuri Osintsev, the Minister of International and External Economic Links of the Sverdlovsk Region, took part today in a meeting between European regional associations and centres of international trade in Ekaterinburg. As announced by the press-service of the Ministry of International an External Economic Links of the Sverdlovsk Region, the main theme of the minister's speech was collaboration with the European Union.

According to the minister, investors from EU countries provide more than half of the foreign investors in the Sverdlovsk Region. Among the investment projects carried out in the Sverdlovsk Region are the following: the construction of a factory by the British company Inchcape producing for Pepsi-Cola (investment amounting to USD 40 million), a joint venture for the production of floor coverings DLV-Ural (German firm DLV, USD 16 million), and a joint venture for the production of electronic equipment Alstom Semz (French business Alstom, USD 14 million). To add to which, British investors have put USD 8 million into the Konfi factory and USD 12 million into the Urals factory Khrompik, in the International Trade Centre and USD 14 million into the Atrium Palace Hotel (Austriun firm Austroclima).

A decision was also taken on the extension to Ekaterinburg of the second international transport corridor (Berlin-Minsk-Moscow-Nizhni Novgorod) in connection with which a meeting will take place in the capital of the North Urals between the leaders of the committee of participant countries (Germany, Poland, Belarus and Russia) with the participance of representatives of large international transport and finance organisations.

As Osintsev remarked, 'over the next few years, with the collaboration of the consortium of foreign investors, a large storage and logistics centre will be built in Ekaterinburg for inter-modal transit, and also a full reconstruction of the motorways linking the region with European Russia.