Minullina's investment mission in Vysokaya Gora: "Hobbit Village" and the fate of stalled projects

      In the Vysokogorsky District they want to build a reinforced concrete rings plant for 1.2 billion rubles

      AIR delegation in Vysokaya Gora

      The head of the Tatarstan Agency for Investment Development, Taliya Minnullina, spent this morning at an offsite investment meeting in the Vysokogorsky District. The tour of enterprises that make a significant contribution to the district’s investment portfolio was given by the head [of the district], Ravil Khisamutdinov. Minnullina was shown the EnergoSpetsEngineering plant, which manufactures electrical switchgear and transformer substations. The enterprise prides itself that its equipment is used at the Vostochny cosmodrome, on Sakhalin, and also in Tatarstan — at Kazanorgsintez, TAIF-NK, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, Tatneft, and in the Innopolis technopark. The plant’s advantage is its own metalworking shop. Development plans include the production of turnkey modular transformer substations.

      The CEO of Kazan Rubber, Lenar Sagdiev, told Minnullina about the development of the Chernyshevka industrial park, which houses the production of rubber compounds. They are used as raw material for making shoe soles, hoses, hockey pucks and washing machine seals — they are shipped to Belarus. The delegation was impressed by the showroom of the Venice Stone company, which displays natural stones from around the world — marble, labradorite, granite — and products made from them. Minnullina noted that this is a premium segment and recommended exhibiting at the "Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum" next year to find foreign customers. The head of AIR liked the sculptures of two Indian elephants made of natural stone and asked to rent them for the duration of the business forum "Tatarstan – India: Mutual Efficiency." It will be held for the first time on October 8–9 in Kazan.

      Vysokaya Gora dreams of renovating the former tuberculosis dispensary

      Minnullina promised to help find an investor who would open a hotel for athletes in Vysokaya Gora. Construction of the facility began back in 2015–2016, but work stopped due to lack of funds. An ice palace and sports complex operate nearby, so a hotel would be very relevant for athletes during regional and all-Russian competitions. The head of the Vysokogorsky District confirmed that a hotel is desperately needed here because accommodation options are only available along the M7 highway.

      Minnullina was shown the buildings of the former tuberculosis dispensary, which are located a 15-minute drive from Vysokaya Gora and 21 km from Kazan in a forested area. In the AIR head’s opinion, several options can be considered: the facility would suit a sanatorium, a hotel, or a medical institution. "If we want to sell it, we need to determine a price at which it can be sold. Entering negotiations without a negotiating position — that doesn’t happen. We need to push the issue!" Minnullina believes.

      Earlier investors had shown interest in the 5-hectare plot where the former tuberculosis hospital stands, but the site was not taken into work. Any investor who comes here would find it easier to demolish these red-brick buildings, said the director of the Institute of Spatial Planning of the Republic of Tatarstan, Oleg Grigoryev. "There are those who want to demolish the facility and build a residential complex, but we don’t need that," admitted the district head. Minnullina thinks that all options should be considered because the facility is substantial and requires large investments that must be sought outside the republic. "I think it’s realistic to attach both a hotel and the tuberculosis dispensary. Everything will depend on the terms we offer investors. We need to develop a concrete commercial proposal, then we can analyze who in the market might be interested and conduct negotiations," the AIR head told Tatar-inform.

      Minnullina was outraged by investors who do not implement projects approved by Minnikhanov

      After the offsite meeting, Minnullina and the head of the Vysokogorsky District held a municipal investment council. The AIR head began with good news: in the first three quarters of 2025 the district grew in private capital inflow. And this despite not having a single municipal industrial site.

      There was also bad news — the district has three "stalled projects" that were approved at the investment council with the participation of the Rais of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov. Minnullina was told that work on the Vysokogorsky industrial park is literally at the final stage; it is already included in the master plan. For another industrial park, "Agropolis," funding confirmation has not yet been received.

      Since 2020 the glamping project has been in limbo because the owner was not satisfied with any of the proposed plots and his desire to implement the project has waned. "If we can’t find a site in the Vysokogorsky District, let’s transfer the project to someone else, otherwise it’s useless to us and to people. Let’s transfer it to a neighboring district," Minnullina recommended and expressed her readiness to personally negotiate with the investor. The head of AIR doesn’t understand why investors come to the investment council with Minnikhanov’s participation if later they have no desire to work. "For the future — projects at the investment council must be worked through so that we don’t blush for those people who take on obligations and then do not fulfill them," Minnullina said.

      "A Hobbit Village" to be built near the village of Aldermysh

      Investor Pavel Mishin announced plans to build the Tengre eco-complex. Its part may become a "Hobbit Village." "There will be different types of accommodation in the complex. The Hobbit Village — there is an interesting landscape; the houses will be located on an elevation," the investor said. Dome houses, family vacation houses and houses with an increased level of comfort are also planned. According to Mishin, prices will start at 10,000 rubles, which Minnullina doubted — the cost will most likely be higher.

      They want to create two artificial lakes on the territory: one for fishing, the other for water recreation. Plans include two restaurants: national cuisine and European cuisine. The spa zone will feature an outdoor heated pool. For sports — a basketball court, tennis courts and a football field. The eco-complex is to be built near the village of Aldermysh, 36 km from the center of Kazan. The project occupies 40.5 hectares and is fully car-free — guests will be transported in eco-friendly electric cars. The planned investment volume is 450 million rubles.

      "Here’s a free piece of advice — we don’t have a single glamping site in Tatarstan where a family could come and leave a child for an hour or two to be taught something or someone to play with them. Not one! We’ve created a huge network of glampings, but such a thing doesn’t exist," Minnullina said. She was told that Tengre plans to build a playground and playrooms in the spa complex.

      The Vysokogorsky District may receive new private industrial parks

      The industrial park "M7 – Chebaksa" is planned to be built in Vysokaya Gora, next to the Atmosfera residential complex and the federal M7 highway. Five residents have expressed interest; they plan to engage in metalworking, manufacture road signs, and wholesale metal trade. Implementation is planned in two stages and to be fully completed in 2027. Investment volume — 109 million rubles. As the district head said, in the future 15,000 people will live in the Atmosfera residential complex, so there should be no problems with labor supply in the new industrial park. The second is the "Kaymary" industrial park in the Chernyshevskoye rural settlement. Investment volume — 526 million rubles.

      "An experienced man, he began his report by praising the head!"

      At the council a project was presented for the production of adsorbents and reagents for 150 million rubles. As Ilya Shamritsky said, there are no similar enterprises in Russia. At the first stage the district plans to produce barbecue, briquetted and activated charcoal; at the second stage — technical silica gel, which is placed, for example, in shoeboxes.

      The most expensive of the presented projects is a complex for the production of reinforced concrete rings, precast floor slabs and expanded-clay blocks. Cost — 1.2 billion rubles, 70% own funds, 30% borrowed. Project representative Almaz Akhmetov said they already have a small production of reinforced concrete rings, and they want to expand on a site in Vysokaya Gora. Investor Damir Safarov wants to build nearby, in the village of Aldermysh, a shopping center with a supermarket that will operate until 23:00, a garden center and a pharmacy. He expects the project will require 55 million rubles. Minnullina doubted that figure but reacted positively to the project, which will be in demand near the "New Aldermysh" cottage settlement. "An experienced man, he began his report by praising the head!" Minnullina joked at the end of Safarov’s presentation.

      "The man who drives a Rolls-Royce will find money for a small plant"

      "A needed production" — that’s how the AIR head described the production of asphalt concrete mix for road construction. The Galeon company, which has already worked on the construction of the Voznesensky tract in Kazan, wants to create a new production. Investments are estimated at 373 million rubles. Maksim Zaytsev reported his desire to build the Absolute industrial park in the Berezinskoye rural settlement. A full production cycle of boiler equipment is planned there. There are no similar productions in Tatarstan. Investments will amount to 480 million rubles. "The man who drives a Rolls-Royce will find money for a small plant," the head of the Vysokogorsky District commented on Zaytsev’s report.

      Investors ask for help converting land from agricultural to industrial

      Minnullina and Khisamutdinov were presented with a batch of seven investment projects. They are all different, but there are several trends. First — many investors ask to reclassify purchased land plots from agricultural to industrial. "Next year the rules for conversion are changing, and this step will have to be coordinated with the Russian Ministry of Agriculture. The conversion takes a decent amount of time — three to six months. You need to purchase plots upfront that will correspond to the project implementation. And they buy because agricultural land is cheaper. And then, due to the conversion, state support may turn out to be not more than private investment," Minnullina commented to Tatar-inform.

      Second — investors try to implement projects without borrowing due to the high key rate. As Minnullina put it figuratively, they borrow "from a friend, from a brother." And this is the result of what is happening today in the financial market.

      "In such hard times even thinking about business development is a small success!"

      During the investment council Minnullina reprimanded presenters for underdeveloped financial models, but in the end she sweetened the pill. "I want to say that in such a difficult situation to conduct entrepreneurial activity at all, to go into development, to do new things — that is already a small success. Even to think about it and to come forward with initiatives! Therefore I want to support our colleagues," she said.

      She noted that overall in the Vysokogorsky District comfortable conditions for doing business have been created over the past five years: new productions are opening, small business is developing. Yes, maybe the projects are not innovative, but they are needed by people, Minnullina said. "Of course, keep it up. Forward and only forward. And one more thing: I want to say that Tatarstan today is the heart of investment. We have a good external image, and today we have the best investment infrastructure in the country. We are practically the only region with more than 100 industrial parks and with more than seven federal zones with tax benefits. Projects receive comprehensive support. The system that the Rais of the republic has built today is unprecedented and serves as an example for other subjects of the Russian Federation," Minnullina concluded.

      Photo: © Dinara Prokopyeva / Tatar-inform