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The meeting looked at forming a common strategy for developing Moscow’s aviation hub, improving its management structure and developing public-private partnership mechanisms.

The meeting’s participants included senior officials from the Presidential Executive Office and Government, and the heads of a number of ministries, agencies, regions, and companies.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, dear colleagues,

Today we will discuss the prospects for developing the Moscow aviation hub. Our task is to transform it into a modern, international air traffic centre, a state-of-the-art one, and to make sure that it meets the highest standards for global air transport infrastructure. This is a key factor in realising our investment, transit and tourism potential. It is also an incentive to create additional jobs and represents yet another step strengthening the position of Moscow as a major global scientific, cultural and business centre.

In recent years much has been done to improve the quality of Moscow’s main airports: Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo. They now have modern passenger terminals and airfield infrastructure has been upgraded. In turn, the airports’ capacity has markedly increased. In terms of passenger traffic, the Moscow aviation hub is among the ten largest in the world, and it continues to grow rapidly.

In these conditions, our main task is to ensure that Moscow’s airports operate efficiently and smoothly, provide reliable transport connectivity across the entire country, and act as a strong link in international transport routes.

Experience demonstrates that global competitiveness depends on increasing the number of flights, convenient connections and fast customs procedures. All this can be effectively organised within a major aviation complex.

”Our task is to transform it into a modern, international air traffic centre. This is a key factor in realising our investment, transit and tourism potential. It is another step strengthening the position of Moscow as a major global scientific, cultural and business centre.“

We have already discussed creating such a complex on the basis of the Moscow aviation hub, and have agreed to implement new approaches to organising operation of Moscow airports in order to ensure the synchronous development of their infrastructure, improve the transparency and effectiveness of investing public funds, and ultimately generate assets that are attractive for private investors.

I know that there are several opinions on the prospect strategy of developing the Moscow aviation hub. Today I suggest that all of you, dear colleagues, express your views on this issue, keeping in mind the following considerations.

First, we must carefully consider all organisational and financial aspects of developing the Moscow aviation hub. Currently, operation conditions for different airports vary, same as relationships with each particular operator, therefore the transparency of airport ownership and the prospect planning are particularly important.

It is essential that all participants of the [airports development] project fall under Russian jurisdiction and that the beneficial owners are clear. It is important to clearly understand who will fund the development of airport infrastructure, at whose expense, to what extent, and to know who is responsible for what in the end.

Second, it is inadmissible to shift costs incurred onto passengers, so I would suggest that this meeting’s participants speak to this issue too. We need clear sources of funding so that costs do not end up, as I just said, falling to passengers themselves.

Third, activities to develop the airfield infrastructure of the Moscow aviation hub are set out in the federal target programme on transport development. Necessary budgetary funds have been allocated, appropriate time frames have been determined, and work on other airport facilities depends on them. I would ask you to assume that the schedule will be followed to the minute.

And the fourth point, plans to develop airports must be fully coordinated with Moscow and the Moscow Region’s plans to improve infrastructure around airports. We must develop the Moscow aviation hub in close coordination and along with building and improving roads and railways leading to airports.

In this respect it is crucially important to develop a common language between airports, infrastructure companies and government agencies, and to coordinate joint actions. Today I would like to hear how you propose to do so.

Let’s get to work.

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