Moscow authorities plan to attract investors to the construction of residential areas for foreign businessmen working in Russia and their families, first deputy head of City Hall's department of economic policy and development Alexei Peshkov said Wednesday.
The city expects the number of expats to increase in connection with the creation of an international financial hub in the capital, Izvestia said.
To create favorable conditions for the families of foreign specialists Moscow will also increase the number of secondary schools offering the international baccalaureate program and those following the national education program of foreigners' home countries, the official said.
According to Peshkov, authorities have not yet chosen specific sites for the proposed projects. They are considering several options for their location including downtown Moscow and areas southwest of the Moscow Ring Road recently integrated into the city.
Peshkov stressed that the city is prepared to invest in the development of infrastructure for the residential areas even if no private investors are found, but projects that don't require budget funding will get "priority consideration."
The idea of creating housing especially for foreign specialists was initially proposed by then-President Dmitry Medvedev at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum in June 2011.
According to plans, the new financial district should be located in the "New Moscow" territory, between the prestigious Rublevo-Uspenskoye and Novorizhskoye highways, occupying an area of 3.65 million square meters.
Andrei Sharonov, deputy mayor for economic issues, said the city would develop social infrastructure for expats working in Moscow.
Mikhail Shneider, principal of school No. 45 in Moscow, said there are currently nine schools in the city that are members of the International Baccalaureate Schools Association— four state and five private ones.
By the end of 2015 their number should reach 30, Shneider said.