Renova Group takes control over Kurumoch Airport

Renova Group of companies, through Kurumoch-Invest controlled by it, acquired 71.18% interest in OJSC Kurumoch International Airport in Samara. The purchase was in line with the plan previously approved by the project investor and OJSC Samara Region Development Corporation. Spectrum, the new airport designer, started to design a new terminal ahead of schedule so that it might be presented during the next FIFA delegation visit to Samara.

“Over 5 billion rubles are budgeted for the investment program aimed to develop the Kurumoch airport till 2015”, says Evgeny Chudnovsky, CEO of Koltsovo Airport, who is in charge of the airport business in the Renova Group. “Our strategic mission as an investor is to build a multimodal transport hub in Kurumoch matching the region’s status. Owing to the location of the airport and its value for the Samara and adjacent regions, we believe it will result in a significant rise in passenger traffic, as well as the change in the role of Kurumoch in the Volga Region transport system”, says Chudnovsky.

The new terminal is expected to start operation on December 31, 2014. The second phase of the investment program is scheduled for 2015 - 2018. The terminal will be expanded to 60,000 sq. m, together with a new hotel, business center, multilevel parking lot and a railway terminal to be built. The new terminal will have the capacity of up to 3.5 million passengers. Given the sufficient rise in passenger capacity and the introduction of the multimodal transportation system, in summer of 2018 the new Samara airport will be able to receive all those who willing to visit the world football championship.

In late 2011, OJSC Koltsovo Airport representing the Renova Group was announced the winning bidder for the Kurumoch Airport investment program. The first phase of the program is scheduled for 2012-2014. In early 2012, the Renova Group and the Samara Region Development Corporation signed an investment agreement for construction of a new air terminal at the Kurumoch Airport. The agreement provides for a new passenger terminal of 35,000 sq. m to be built by the end of 2014. On April 9, 2012, the Federal Antimonopoly Service approved the purchase of 100% shareholding in the Kurumoch Airport by Kurumoch-Invest.

By taking control of the Kurumoch International Airport, the Renova Group has now formed Russia’s largest airport holding with the aggregate passenger traffic of three airports, which include Koltsovo (Ekaterinburg), Strigino (Nizhny Novgorod), and Kurumoch (Samara), exceeding 5.5 million passengers.