R. Minnikhanov was presented the concept of the Kazan financial district master plan

(KZN.RU, September 22). Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the RT, was presented the concept of the Kazan financial district master plan today. The presentation took place in the Government House of the RT. Alexey Pesoshin, the prime minister of the RT, Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, Olesya Baltusova, an assistant to the President of the RT, Airat Nurutdinov, an assistant to the President of the RT, representatives of the republican authorities attended the event.

Norliza Khashim, the managing director and architect of the Malaysian city-planning company “APUDG”, presented the concept. She marked that one of the important features of the project is the rehabilitation of the industrial territory of Novo-Tatarskaya Sloboda and the development of the infrastructure of the Volga embankment. The Kazan financial district in the future should become an international business center. At the same time, it is planned to preserve the cultural and historical elements of the territory as much as possible.

The total area of the planning is more than 1.1 thousand has, 656 of which is the building area. According to the forecast of the concept developers, about 43 thousand people will live in the financial area in 30 years, and 18.7 thousand new jobs will be created. The project also involves the construction of 5.6 km of new roads and the modernization of 20.5 km of the existing roadway.

An important issue is the ecological well-being of the territory. It is planned to allocate almost 95 ha for various public spaces and green areas. In the plans - a large-scale modernization of sewerage units and facilities of the sewerage and wastewater treatment system.

Norliza Khashim noted that the positioning of Kazan as a regional financial center will be achieved through the fulfillment of a number of tasks. It is expected that the head offices and branches of Tatarstan and Russian banks will be located in the new district, as well as offices of large companies. Financial institutions should expand their services in such areas as Islamic banking and corporate finance, taking into account the interests of market participants and responding to the needs of the Tatarstan economy.

Further expansion of the financial and banking services range should include the development of private banking services, property and wealth management, fund management, exchange transactions, and investment advice.

Norliza Khashim especially focused on the issues of modernizing the transport infrastructure, improving the Volga embankment, creating a quality urban environment, placing eco-industries, developing the business platform, etc.

Then the meeting participants discussed a number of questions on the presented master plan. In particular, Rustam Minnikhanov noted the need to finalize the model of the transport network of the future financial district, reports the Government of the RT.

For reference

The APUDG (AJM Planning and Urban Design Group Sdn Bhd) is a Malaysian team of city planners, urbanists, architects, engineers, environmentalists whose work is related to improving the quality of the habitat in cities, settlements, and regions. In 2012, the APUDG participated in the development of the master plan Kazan Smart City.