Moscow is looking to attract Qatari investments in its transport infrastructure as well as sectors like real estate, healthcare, hospitality, and tourism, a high ranking official has said.
“Moscow is a major destination for foreign direct investments,” said Moscow Government Minister and head of the Department for Foreign Economic Activity and International Relations, Cheryomin Sergei.
Sergei led a high-level trade delegation from Moscow yesterday and met with Qatar Chamber officials led by vice-chairman Mohamed bin Towar al-Kuwari.
“Our relationship with Qatar is very important and this has improved dramatically in the past years. Our mission here is to continue to support this trend and to show opportunities for mutual cooperation.
“And we are very interested in some sectors such as investments in Moscow’s basic transport infrastructure, transport hubs, and all other opportunities provided today by the Moscow economy,” Sergei pointed out.
From 2010 to 2016, Sergei said Moscow has introduced 400km of roads (over 10% of the already existing city road system), 150km of bus lanes, 350 bays for public transport, 118 infrastructure structures (20% of the already existing number of structures), and 114 underground crossings (35% of the already existing number of pedestrian crossings).
He said there is a plan to build 170 major transport hubs and development plans for 99 transport hubs are ready, while 30 transport hubs have ratified urban planning documentation.
“Over the last five years, 100km of new lines were built and 48 new stations were opened. Now, the subway is being built in Moscow with a speed of Beijing, one of the leaders in this field,” he said.
Citing the $17.2bn high-speed long distance railway from Moscow to Beijing, Sergei said the project will reduce travel time between the two cities by four times, from 14 hours to 3.5 hours. Regular movement of high-speed trains with passengers should begin by 2021, he said.
“During the construction phase, 370,000 new jobs will be created, and the value of the order for the supply of construction products will be $4.4bn,” he said.
On the sidelines of the meeting, al-Kuwari told Gulf Times that a Qatari delegation visited Russia earlier this year to explore investment opportunities in real estate, tourism, “and other industries.”
“There are many opportunities for Qataris and other companies to invest in these sectors, and this actually works for both sides,” he stressed.
Sergei said there are also investment opportunities in the development concept for the Moska River, which includes 24 new bridges, 120km of landscaped embankments, 40 public spaces, and 16 major projects.


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