Maxim Sokolov told the students of the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University about the development of PPP projects in the transport sphere
On November 20, 2020, the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University (GSoM of SPbSU) hosted the VI Annual Scientific Conference on the topic "Public-private partnership in the transport sphere: models and experience." The experts discussed the theoretical and legal problems of implementing PPP projects.
Maxim Sokolov, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg, Head of the Department of State and Municipal Management of the GSoM of SPbSU, noted that, despite difficult times, work to attract private investment to the city's economy continues in St. Petersburg.
"Just a very short while ago, we signed an agreement on the implementation of an important and large-scale project – the construction of a traffic intersection with Vitebsk prospekt and a prospective connection to the Latitude Highway. For the city, this is a landmark project, which can be compared in importance with the project to create the Western High-Speed Diameter," said Maxim Sokolov.
He also spoke about the experience of implementing large PPP projects , which are supported by the Investment Committee of St. Petersburg. Among such projects – construction of Pulkovo airport, creation of public transport project – the first project in the field of infrastructure, known to the residents as the Chizhik tram.
"St. Petersburg has been holding a confident leadership in the field of PPP in the transport sphere for more than 15 years. We expect the construction of a high-speed railway, the main section of which will also be built on the basis of a public-private partnership. Such projects are important for the city. The PPP mechanism makes it possible to save budget funds, attract the most modern technologies, accelerate the creation of such a complex and necessary infrastructure for the city's transport development.
Today in St. Petersburg, at all levels, a professional team has been created that implements PPP projects not only in the transport sphere, but also in the field of medicine, development of territories and sports facilities. In turn, the Graduate School of Management of SPbSU is a forge of specialists in the field of PPP not only for St. Petersburg, but for the entire North-West Federal District," the vice-governor told the conference participants.
The conference organizer, the Research Center for Public-Private Partnership of GSoM of SPbSU, is engaged in the creation and dissemination of knowledge on the organization and effective management of PPP projects. The conference is a platform for discussing current problems of PPP in the transport sphere, exchange of views of leading Russian experts, representatives of the government bodies, academic community and novice specialists – students, undergraduates and postgraduates of SPbSU and other Russian universities.