“Small and medium business is the principal driving force of economic development of historic towns of Moscow region" – said Sergei Korotchenkov, RDI’s General Director at the plenary session of “The Historic Towns of Moscow Region are a Unique Asset in the Region” in the framework of the XVI International Industry Exhibition titled “Moscow Region Construction Week – 2014”. According to Sergei Korotchenkov, the success of the project is to restore the historic appearance of the Moscow region, being a guarantee inherent in such a project investment opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses, which will provide at least 25–30% per annum yield to entrepreneurs.
“We are far from being indifferent as to how Moscow region will look like. This issue is not only and not so much a business issue, but rather a citizenship initiative”, – argued Sergey Korotchenkov during the discussion on the mechanisms of preservation and development of historically important provincial towns in the region. According to him, the success of the revitalization of this category of human settlements depends upon whether or not we will manage to “bounce off the economic engine” of the project. Mr. Korotchenkov believes that the result can be achieved only in the case of pooling interests of all stakeholders of the process.
Revitalization of regional towns is, first and foremost, the environmental development. “Relying on my estimates, there are not quite a few major developers, who coould engage in this kind of projects – maximum about 50%, – said Sergey Korotchenkov. Their role in the process is providing major urban infrastructure facilities. But the project of such a magnitude should engage much more market participants. And, on a first priority basis, we are talking here about small and medium-sized businesses, because that's what they need and are really able to fill the regional towns with full blood. Or, other ways of saying, the health of the regional environment is synonymous with the development of small and medium-sized business.