In the Republic of Tatarstan, on the territory of the Sviyazhsk Interregional Multimodal Logistics Center (SMMLC), the construction of the Sviyazhsk-Zernoproduct elevator complex was launched. The design capacity of the new elevator will be 112,5 thousand tons of one-time grain storage. The location of the site will allow transporting agricultural products by road, rail and water. The cost of the project will be 2,4 billion rubles, including VAT. The construction is being carried out by the Avgust-Agro group of companies, created by the leading Russian pesticide manufacturer Avgust Firm JSC to develop its own agricultural direction, Agroproekt.
The President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, the Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan Marat Zyabbarov, the head of the Zelenodolsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan Mikhail Afanasiev, the General Director of the Avgust group of companies Alexander Uskov, the General Director of LLC Managing Company "August-Agro" Aidar Galyautdinov and General Director of LLC "Sviyazhsk-Zernoprodukt" Farid Girfanov.
“The issue of food security is number one today. In Tatarstan, it is necessary to produce at least 4 million tons of grain annually, and without modern high-quality storage and processing of the crop, it is difficult to predict the results of our activities,” Rustam Minnikhanov said at the stone-laying ceremony.
The President of the Republic of Tatarstan also noted the region's successful cooperation with Avgust and stressed that the republic would support the company's initiatives. “We see how seriously you approach the implementation of projects. I would like to thank you for your active work and trust. I want to note that the elevator will be built on the most promising site of our republic,” added Rustam Minnikhanov.
Alexander Uskov, General Director of the August group of companies, emphasized that the construction of the elevator is far from the first investment project that August is implementing in the Republic of Tatarstan. 6 years ago in the SEZ "Alabuga" the construction of the plant "Avgust-Alabuga" for the formulation of preparations for plant protection began, today it is the most modern production site of "August". On the basis of the farm near the enterprise, a demonstration site was laid, where it was supposed to popularize the no-till farming technology No-Till and present crop protection systems within the framework of this technology based on Augusta preparations to partner farmers. This became the starting point for the development of our own agricultural production.
“Our demonstration site in the Republic of Tatarstan has grown into a huge Agroproject within 4 years. This happened thanks to very strong support from the regional authorities: Tatarstan has an investment climate that is unique for Russia. Thank you so much for the opportunities you provide. I hope that the project that we are launching today will contribute to the further dynamic development of the republic's agriculture,” Alexander Uskov said.
The August-Agro group of companies, created to manage the farms of Agroproekt, has been operating in Tatarstan since 2018 and today is one of the largest agribusiness enterprises in the region. The volume of agricultural production in the current season is planned at the level of more than 500 thousand tons. "August-Agro" actively equips farms with new equipment and introduces advanced technologies for managing agricultural production. At present, the area of arable land cultivated by the agricultural holding in Tatarstan is 190 thousand hectares. All this necessitated the construction of a modern elevator complex. Not far from the future elevator there are lands of agricultural firms "Avgust-Kamskoe Ustye" and "August-Kaibitsy", which will become the anchor customers of the complex's services for long-term storage of products. Also, Sviyazhsk-Zernoprodukt will be able to provide third-party agricultural producers with a wide range of services for storage, cleaning, drying, transshipment and loading of grain. Upon reaching the design capacity (112,5 thousand tons of one-time storage of grain), about 450 thousand tons of products will pass through the elevator during the year. The elevator complex can receive the first batches of grain in 2023, and reaching its maximum capacity is scheduled for 2025.
The location on the territory of the SMMLC industrial park meets the needs of the facility. The park itself is located on the navigable section of the Sviyaga River and near the main ship's passage along the Volga River. It has its own port: a mooring wall has been built on the territory of the SMMLC, suitable for loading grain onto ships of various types, including dry cargo ships of the “river-sea” type. All the necessary communications, including electricity and gas, have been brought to the site of the future elevator. A highway and a railway line were built, which connects the site of the complex with the Sviyazhsk railway station in the settlement. Nizhniye Vyazovye, located on the Moscow-Yekaterinburg line. There is also a connection with the Kazan-Ulyanovsk railway line.
A feature of the Sviyazhsk-Zernoprodukt elevator will be a high loading speed of 700 tons per hour, which will be ensured by productive conveyors. As a result, in the port, grain will be loaded onto a ship within a period of no more than 10 hours, while on average it takes 3-4 days. The project also provides for 10 hours for the formation of a railway train, since customers and carrier companies are financially interested in accelerating these processes. There are no analogues of the project in Tatarstan today.
The development of the complex provides for energy efficiency and the creation of a high degree of automation of production processes. By 2025, the enterprise will create 86 jobs.
The cost of the project is 2,4 billion rubles including VAT. The project is expected to be financed, among other things, through a loan provided by the Monotowns Development Fund. However, 90% of the investment costs will be the own funds of the company "August". The total amount of revenues to the budgets of all levels and extra-budgetary funds over 10 years of project implementation will reach 1,2 billion rubles. Impressive amounts will go to the federal budget - 615 million rubles, as well as to the budget of the Republic of Tatarstan - 493 million rubles.