The government will start building a business jet airport in Kaluga next year, which will help improve conditions for numerous investors in the area, including auto giants like Volkswagen, the region's governor said Monday.
The $80 million airport is scheduled to begin operating in 2014, Kaluga region Governor Anatoly Artamonov said.
"The likes of Volkswagen, Peugeot and Citroen look forward to using the airport," he said at a news conference. "They have their own aircraft."
Kaluga has won a reputation as one of the country's best regions for doing business, with some of the most prominent foreign investors being carmakers. The poor condition of or lack of airports has impeded the accessibility of many Russian regions in past years.
The money for the airport construction in Kaluga will come from the federal and regional budgets, as well as private investors, whom Artamonov declined to name.
Artamonov said the region will especially welcome investment in agriculture, given the enormous adjacent food market in and around Moscow.
"We border on the Moscow region. We need to feed them," he said.
The Kaluga region also has a lot of forest acreage for logging, which it's eager to offer to investors, Artamonov said.
The region is set to attract 70 billion rubles ($2.24 billion) in direct investment this year, he said. Out of that number, $1 billion will be from foreign companies.
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