Azov City given an extension
The administration of Krasnodar region, which previously demanded that the lessees of land plots in the would-be gaming zone Azov City should launch the facilities as soon as by July of the following year, has had to make concessions and to extend the terms for two years.
The other day the administration of Kuban has announced another – the fifth – tender for the right to lease land plots within the would-be gaming zone Azov City. The parameters announced by the officials make a great difference as compared to the previous ones. As many as 16 land plots with the area of 1.8 to 3 hectares were offered. The initial amount of the annual rent ranges from 114 thousand to 365 thousand rubles, depending on the area and the location of the plot. According to the head of Krasnodar’s directorate of Azov City (an agency of the regional administration) Oleg Buzunov, on average the initial rent has been increased by one third as compared with the previous tenders. However, the major difference lies in the fact that the officials have significantly relaxed the requirements to the terms of gambling facilities construction. The conditions of the first tenders implied that the lessees should build casinos, slot halls or hotels and put them in operation as soon as by the mid summer of the following year. This time the term has been extended till July 2011.
Earlier the representatives of Kuban’s administration stated several times that they see the launch of Azov City by July 1st of the following year as a major goal – July 1st, 2009, is the date as of which, pursuant to the federal law “On state regulation of activities involved in gambling organization on arrangement”, gambling operations will be banned unless they are run in the specially allotted reservations. Most probably, the officials were forced to relax the requirements by the results of the first tenders, far from being successful. Since June this year the regional administration has managed to find only two investors – lease agreements have been signed with Royal Time LLC, a gambling operator from Tatarstan, and Asati Company, announcing its plans of building pre-fabricated air-inflated constructions within the land plot of 18.5 hectares. It should be mentioned that neighbouring Rostov region has managed to lease 14 land plots within the pilot territory of Azov City in the course of the only tender. However, the Don’s officials have originally chosen a mitigated position – under the tender conditions, the investors are obliged just to inform on the construction works being launched by the mid summer of the following year.
ExpertOnline