A replacement for the shuttered Cherkizovsky Market may appear in the Moscow region as plans are being made for a $600 million, multipurpose wholesale center — possibly the biggest in Russia.
A 130-hectare plot of land near the Korobovo village in the Leninsky district will house a multipurpose complex with a wholesale center, said Sergei Sanakoyev, chairman of the management board of the Russian-Chinese Center for Trade and Economic Cooperation, which is a strategic partner in the project.
The project will have a total space of 600,000 square meters, Sanakoyev said, estimating the necessary investments at $600 million.
Even more grandiose plans are laid out on the project's web site, which says trade and logistics warehouses will take up 500,000 square meters, and wholesale trade shopping streets will occupy another 300,000 square meters.
The project's participants have been working on attracting Chinese partners — both investors and tenants — since February, the web site said.
If the plans are realized, the project will become a major wholesale trade center, said Mikhail Gets, managing director of Praedium Oncor International.
R1, the project's investor, plans to begin construction work on-site in the next few months, Sanakoyev said.
“The first stage will be construction of a 260,000-square-meter universal wholesale and retail center for consumer goods, with the capacity for accommodating large-size cargo,” the project's web site said.
An R1 representative said the final concept of the project is not approved yet.
No information is available on R1. The land plot in Korobovo was previously developed by RDI Group, which is currently working on real estate projects with the total space of 730,000 square meters in Khimki in the Moscow region together with Limitless, a Dubai company.
RDI has quit the Korobovo project, a source close to the company's management said. The project has been passed to MDK Group, a company created by former RDI managers, a source in the consulting industry told Vedomosti.
A telephone call to the number provided on MDK's web site was forwarded to an employee in charge of the Korobovo project, who was absent.
R1 is associated with Rosenergomash, an electrical engineering manufacturer, sources in the consulting industry said. A call to the Rosenergomash office was forwarded to a representative of R1, and representatives of Rosenergomash were unavailable for comment.
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