ST. PETERSBURG — Etalon Group plans to build the first section of a congress and exhibition center in St. Petersburg for ExpoForum at a cost of 14 billion rubles ($500 million), Etalon said in a statement.
Etalon expects to sign an agreement with ExpoForum, according to which it will be the general contractor for the construction project.
The new multipurpose complex will be located in Shushary, outside of St. Petersburg, and will consist of a congress center, exhibition halls, two hotels (one four-star and the other three-star), two business centers and other facilities.
Construction work should be finished by Oct. 31, 2013.
Etalon Group's main owners are Vyacheslav Zarenkov, board chairman at LenSpetsSMU, and his family members.
ExpoForum was founded in 2008 for the construction of a congress and exhibition center. Once the project is finished, ExpoForum will continue to operate as the manager of the facilities.
