This text is an automatic translation from Русский. It was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
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This text is an automatic translation from Русский. It was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Read original →AIIC has presented a memorandum on attracting non-budgetary investment in infrastructure and launched the Infrastructure Time project. How the high key rate affects concessions and what new financial instruments the market proposes.
The event was hosted by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), where market participants discussed the outcomes of concession mechanism development, the impact of the high key rate on investment activity, and prospects for attracting private capital into infrastructure.
AIIC recalled that the past year was landmark for the entire industry: 2025 coincided with the 20th anniversary of Federal Law No. 115-FZ "On Concession Agreements" and the 10th anniversary of the law on public-private partnership. According to the association's board chairman Igor Koval, over two decades the market has proven its viability as an instrument for attracting investment and reducing budget burdens, while implemented projects have covered virtually the entire infrastructure spectrum: from transport to social facilities.
According to Sovcombank representative Konstantin Batunin, by the end of 2024, 4,322 PPP and concession agreements worth 7.3 trillion rubles had been concluded in Russia, with 70% of investments provided by non-budgetary sources. These figures reflect the core purpose of the concession mechanism—attracting private capital where the state is limited by budgetary constraints.
However, the high key rate remains a factor that directly affects the pace of infrastructure initiatives: projects are shifting to the right on timelines, leading to changes in financial models and investment decisions. At the same time, as noted at the event, the industry today needs not a slowdown, but adaptation: the scale of infrastructure challenges is growing faster than budget capacity.
One of the speakers was Deputy Head of the Department for Structuring Infrastructure Projects and PPP at Gazprombank Darya Tsapko, who noted that in August 2025 the government approved a comprehensive infrastructure development plan through 2036. It envisages construction and reconstruction of approximately 4,500 km of railways, more than 2,000 km of highways, 17 cargo terminals in seaports, and 55 airport complexes. It's clear that such volumes require colossal investment, including non-budgetary, and therefore new mechanisms for project financial sustainability given constant changes in macroeconomic parameters.
Gazprombank is traditionally viewed by the market as one of the key players in infrastructure financing. Recently, Ildar Murtazin, head of the bank's structuring department, indicated that PPP projects cannot be postponed simply because of high cost of money: preparation must begin now so that regions enter the investment cycle with ready solutions. This approach is particularly relevant in a situation where many initiatives stall precisely at the financial modeling and project documentation preparation stage.
The bank emphasizes that a credit institution's participation in infrastructure deals has long gone beyond actual financing: it's about helping regions structure initiatives, attract investors, and support projects at all implementation stages. Gazprombank's infrastructure portfolio exceeds 3.5 trillion rubles, while total capital investments of projects with its participation exceed 9.2 trillion rubles, making it one of the country's largest private infrastructure investors.
A separate substantive outcome of the press breakfast was the presentation of AIIC's memorandum on measures to increase non-budgetary financing of infrastructure projects. The document consolidates proposals from market participants—both regarding fine-tuning regulation of concession agreements and in the area of financial mechanisms.
The memorandum is planned to be submitted to the government for further discussion with relevant ministries and the business community. Its goal is to form a systematic market position on PPP development issues under conditions of limited budget resources and high cost of borrowed funds.
Among the initiatives are creating more flexible settlement conditions between the public side and investors, including the ability to structure concessions with deferred or installment payments, as well as developing preferential funding instruments for highly reliable projects. A separate section is devoted to attracting institutional investors. According to the Bank of Russia's assessment, the volume of pension funds of NPFs and the Social Fund reached 9 trillion rubles by the end of three quarters of 2025, but involving them in infrastructure requires formation of a new class of reliable assets meeting long-term investors' requirements.
Another area being discussed by the market as a potential source of non-budgetary funds is digital financial assets. Sberbank representative Konstantin Pesotsky noted that the DFA market is showing steady growth, but there are virtually no specialized issues oriented specifically toward PPP project financing yet. As a next step, he proposed launching at least one pilot issue of such an instrument worth at least 5 billion rubles in 2026 to test a model for attracting investors to infrastructure.
Alongside the search for new financing instruments, the market also expects adjustment of existing regulation. In particular, PPP participants expect adoption of the Central Bank's initiative to reduce risk weights on loans issued within concession projects. As noted at the event, this would reduce the burden on banks' capital and accelerate the launch of new initiatives. For example, Gazprombank, according to preliminary estimates, could direct over 600 billion rubles additionally into new infrastructure projects if corresponding changes are adopted.
The key public focus of the event was the launch of AIIC's new project—Infrastructure Time. Its initiators note that the information agenda around concessions is often formed predominantly through problem cases, while successfully implemented projects remain outside wide attention.
The new project involves synchronizing PR efforts of association participants, creating a unified knowledge library about projects and legislative initiatives, launching an interactive map of regional budget constraints, as well as developing special areas—from an infrastructure photo bank to educational and cultural initiatives.
Infrastructure Time is positioned not as a one-off communications campaign, but as a systematic industry tool. Against the backdrop of large-scale government plans through 2036 and limited budget resources, the market is essentially formulating a new strategy: infrastructure must be prepared and structured now—even under conditions of expensive capital. Otherwise, when economic conditions improve, the country may face a shortage not of money, but of projects ready to launch.