‘Today we are at Stage 1 of forming the Russian-French joint venture. The project is important for the Russian Federation and is a major point of growth for regions in the North Caucasus. The initiative for the production of process equipment will create new jobs and improve the quality of human resource capacity in the regions. We are pleased that the project will be implemented jointly with the international leader in the ropeway production, which has more than eight decades of experience in the tourism sector and ski industry’, Lev Kuznetsov, the Minister of the Russian Federation for North Caucasus Affairs, said when opening the agreement signing ceremony.

Joint-Stock Company Northern Caucasus Resorts, Joint-Stock Company Northern Caucasus Development Corporation (NCDC) and French POMA SAS shall establish a joint venture to produce and build ropeways for ski resorts. The cooperation and coordination agreement within this project was signed today in Moscow by Rustam Tapaev, Deputy Director General of JSC NCR, Sergey Kharitonov, Director General of JSC NCDC, and Jean Souchal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of POMA SAS. The signing ceremony was attended by Lev Kuznetsov, the Minister of North Caucasus Affairs of the Russian Federation, Odes Baysultanov, the First Deputy Minister of North Caucasus Affairs of the Russian Federation, and Anselm Imbert, Deputy Head of Economic Service, Financial Counsellor of the Embassy of the French Republic.

Three companies take part in the Project. Joint-Stock Company Northern Caucasus Resorts is the management company of tourist-and-recreational special economic zones in the North Caucasus, which is engaged in the creation and operation of infrastructure facilities in new ski resorts, including the construction of passenger ropeways. JSC North Caucasus Development Corporation, acting along with JSC NCR as a development institution of the North Caucasus Federal District, has adequate resources and qualified personnel. POMA SAS is one of the global market leaders in development, delivery, manufacture, operation and maintenance of ropeways.

‘The today's agreement is an important step towards a new integrated approach to the development of the ski industry in Russia. In March this year, after visiting the Arkhyz resort, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered to develop import substitution mechanisms for equipment for ski resorts. We thank our longstanding and trusted partners for their willingness to follow this path together with us, to lay the foundations of ski equipment production in our country. It is important that POMA has experience in successful localization of its production around the world’, Odes Baysultanov said.

‘Speaking about Franco-Russian cooperation, I would like to emphasize the confidence that always existed between us. I am very glad that we have spelled out in detail the first steps towards cooperation of POMA with JSC NCR and JSC NCDC, launched few years ago. We are confident that this is a true strategy for partnership in designing, manufacturing and assembling Russian ropeways, and in ensuring stable service and accessibility of lifts in the North Caucasus and throughout Russia. POMA is well aware of the mechanisms of interaction with the state on the example of a joint venture in Algeria, which has been operating in the mode of long-term commitments and safe operation for three years already. It is a story of relationship where people trust each other and are confident in their abilities to implement a story of success, efficiency and creation of a subject of pride. I will be very happy to see soon new ropeways marked ‘Made in Russia’, Jean Souchal stressed.

The strategic goal of the agreement signed shall be the production localization and demand for the products of the joint venture for assembly of ropeway components with qualified personnel involved.

Anselm Imbert, Financial Counsellor of the Embassy of the French Republic, said that the signed agreement is a symbol of confidence and cooperation that was on the same day mentioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his speech at the annual VTB Capital Investment Forum RUSSIA CALLING!. ‘From the point of view of economic mission and the diplomatic corps, France very much welcomes this project, opening a new dimension of trust-based cooperation. The Government of the French Republic shall follow the implementation of the project, because POMA is quite a well-known national brand. The fact that in addition to business goals and economic feasibility, there is trust, ensures success of the undertaking. The French Government also sees and understands that this project is clearly in line with the policy of the Russian state in part of import substitution, and it is also a very important point. You can count on the assistance of the Government of France in terms of additional support measures for this company, if necessary’, he said.

It is planned to implement the joint venture project in three stages. At Stage 1, on the basis of the localized production to be established, a training center will be set up, specialized in training in design, construction, operation and maintenance of ropeways. The training center will train, certify, and provide refresher training for engineering staff, managers and specialized technical and electrical personnel in civil construction, assistants to installation staff, etc. After being trained, specialists can be employed not only in facilities of the joint venture, but also meet the needs of industry production in Russia as a whole.

Stage 2 envisages the establishment of production facilities to assemble ropeway components to be supplied by POMA SAS. Construction of the assembly factory with spare parts warehouse will contribute to the creation of a logistics platform, speedy and quality maintenance to the ropeway facilities in resorts of the North Caucasus. Further potential of assembly plant will increase with due account to opportunities to meet the needs of the Russian market and commercial markets in the CIS countries.

The ultimate goal of the project participants is to create a localized assembly plant. This will ensure the production of ropeway components to service the needs of all-season tourist-and-recreational resorts in the North Caucasus, and export of products beyond the Russian market.

In the near future, the project participants will determine the details of the shareholder agreement on the establishment of the joint venture and the basic principles of its work, prepare a business plan for its activities. The signing of the shareholder agreement is planned within the Russian Investment Forum Sochi 2018.