Airbus might move into the Titanium Valley

20.12.2012 — News

SVERDLOVSK REGION

The French aircraft manufacturer Airbus might follow the example of the American company Boeing and become a resident of the Titanium Valley special economic zone. Jean de Gliniasty, France's ambassador to Russia, promised the governor of the Sverdlovsk region, Evgeny Kuyvashev, his assistance in this matter.

The regional government told RusBusinessNews that according to the agreement to locate production facilities in the Titanium Valley, Boeing will expand its joint venture with the VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, OJSC - Ural Boeing Manufacturing, which is located in Verkhnyaya Salda. The Titanium Valley is quite near this town, in the northern part of the Sverdlovsk region.

The Russian government is prepared to allocate 3.25 billion rubles of the 7.67 billion-ruble cost of the first phase of constructing the Titanium Valley. The 1.3 billion rubles that is needed to build the self-financing infrastructure facilities will come in the form of a loan from Vnesheconombank and Sberbank. Public funds from the Sverdlovsk region will cover the remainder.

Approximately ten companies, including the American corporation Praxair, have already expressed their interest in the zone, where sites for the first residents are being prepared. Praxair plans to spend between six and eight million euros to build a station to produce and package gases.

The Titanium Valley is a special economic zone for industrial and manufacturing businesses, offering a subsidized business environment for Russian and foreign entrepreneurs. The Russian government made the decision in December 2010 to locate the zone in the north of the Sverdlovsk region, at a cost of over 150 billion rubles. The Titanium Valley is included in a federal register of programs intended to further the development of the Urals Federal District from now until 2020.