Due to conversion to market relations the international connections of the Associate board of architecture, construction, reconstruction and development of Moscow is developed constantly. Recently created the Department for International and Interregional Connections is to assist the Associate board administration. Vladimir Mischenko, the department head, told its goals.

Vladimir Mischenko

- Mr Mischenko, I know that your department is comparatively new in the Associate board structure. When was it created?

- De jure the department has operated since the last year September, de facto such a subdivision started earlier. It was known as the department on external relations. Its work was supervised successfully by an adviser to the Associate board head for international background, a known and honorable person within the board, Mr Khomenko.

The international connections have been developed by far for the last few years, that’s why the department was decided to set to make this activity not only coordinated but also planned and realized for a longer perspective. The department work is coordinated and controlled by Vladimir Resin, First Deputy Moscow Mayor, Associate Board Head. Material and technical as well as finance support of its activity is provided by the finance and economic department of the Associate board. The structure of management includes departments on work with the CIS countries and interregional connections, on work with the non-CIS countries and also organizational-legal and passport-visa branches.

Nine highly skilled college-bred employees having good command of some foreign languages and having, as a rule, the practical experience of the international activity work for the department.

- What mission is set towards your administration?

- In accordance to the statue on supervision of international and interregional connections the main goals are:

• rendering of technical assistance within the competence limits to subdivisions of the Associate board of architecture, construction, development and reconstruction of Moscow, to organizations and enterprises of the city building branch in the field of the international and interregional connections in favor of development of mutually profitable cooperation with foreign and Russian partners;
• development of business connections and exchange of experience of the Associate board subdivisions, organizations and enterprises of the city building branch with foreign partners and administrations of the Russian Federation subjects for the purpose of realization of joint investing and building projects as well as attraction of investments and credits for realization of the Moscow city programs;
• supply of Vladimir Resin, the Associate board head, and other heads of departments with essential materials for holding of business meetings and negotiations with foreign partners in Moscow and also during trips in the country and abroad;
• rendering of assistance to the Associate board subdivisions, organizations and enterprises of the city building branch in work with foreign partners, including by the way of organization of meetings and negotiations. All of primary contacts with foreigners go through our management without fail. 

- In other words, if a foreign company wishes to work in Moscow, does it address to you at first?

- Yes, it does. We help to organize negotiations, we provide with essential materials, we meet foreign partners, we directly participate in negotiations, etc. Needless to say that before such meetings we preliminary consult to the experts, other interested persons so that they define expediency of those or other contacts, give forward estimates of the offers we have received.

- Do you participate in organization of foreign trips of delegations of the Moscow City Government?

- Certainly we do, it’s one of our functions - planning of the foreign trips connected with questions of city construction, industrial, scientific and technical policies. In this matter we closely cooperate with the Department for international connections and the Committee on foreign economic activity of Moscow.

- What is scheduled to do this year? What projects are the most interesting?

- The summary plan of international actions for this year is confirmed by the head of the Associate board of architecture, construction, development and reconstruction of Moscow, Mr Resin. It is very many-sided and intense. First of all, it’s participation in the international fairs. As usual an exhibition in Cannes - MIPIM-2007 in March where a big exposition of the Associate board will be, the real estate fair in Madrid - SIMA-2007 in April, the international building exhibition in Vienna - Real Vienna in May. Also we will actively participate in Moscow Economy Days in Bavaria. I’d like to notice, the plan of arrangements has been generated on the basis of the specific proposals received from other managements and construction companies. At that the pursued aim was to satisfy directly the builders’ needs to the maximum. Thereupon a lot of trips abroad are planned for experts for exchange of experience. So, a trip to Australia on a high-rise construction topic will be in February, and there will be a two-day seminar on culture and industrial safety at construction activities in Dusseldorf in March. These problems are rather relevant and are constantly in the limelight of the Associate board management.

- Are we attracted stronger to Europe, America or the countries of Asia with relation to construction technologies?

- It’s hard to give the unambiguous answer. All depends on aims. For example, a high-rise construction. It is obvious that we are interested in the countries having wide experience in construction of skyscrapers, first of all, it is the USA, Japan, China, Australia. Our steeplejack-experts are interested in such contacts and we try to satisfy their requests.

At the same time, you obviously know, that the highest building in Latin America - a business center Torre Major by height of 225 meters was constructed in the center of Mexico City, in spite of there is a seismic danger in the country. Do you remember the known and destructive earthquake in 1985? However Mexicans continue high-rise construction. Probably it will be interesting to our builders to get acquainted with their experience and not only with high-rise construction. We will try to work at this direction – "to open" Latin America for builders.

- Is the foreign experience of antiterror protection also important in the context of construction safety?

- Protection against acts of terrorism is one of the basic demands placed on buildings that are under construction. Any new building wherever it is constructed sips all world achievements in this field. The Moscow experts coming back from such trips are sincerely grateful towards us because they see all novelties personally and can make useful allowances in the work. Domestic builders have also a very wide experience, they have what to tell the foreign colleagues, but all the same it is useful to check the other ideas.

- Unfortunately there are a lot of adventurers and simply unreliable partners even in the global construction market…

- It’s also one of the primary goals of our management set by Mr Resin – to check reliability of partners coming in the Moscow market. And we already have such opportunities. We have started to form a databank about our partners and we fill it up constantly. In case of need we can give the information about business reputation almost of any company.

- Name the countries with which the Moscow Associate board cooperates especially actively.

- The Associate board of architecture, construction, development and reconstruction of Moscow actively use the advanced foreign experience of designing, construction and operation of buildings. From the beginning of 1990th years the Turkish, German, Austrian, Italian, French and other companies work actively in Moscow. At that all works are done by them in strict compliance with the current Moscow norms and rules of construction. Recently, in connection with the beginning of realization of the large-scale program of construction of high-rise buildings (over 25 storeys) as well as realization of the project Moscow City, the Moscow construction organizations have started to use leading foreign experts as advisers more widely.

- A new hotel Moskva is built by an Austrian company Shtrabag. Do Muscovites need to worry that appearance of the familiar building will be lost?

- The building is under construction upon the project of our architects. By their estimate, it will have an appearance identical to the former one and won’t spoil a face of the city center; the Kremlin will be seen.

- How do you see the Moscow of the future? Will it be a high-rise Moscow?

- Moscow cannot and should not lose the historical face, even when high-rise buildings have been constructed in it. Moscow is recognized not only on cards, it is recognized on streets too. The capital authorities’ policy for that matter is correct – the center of Moscow won’t change. Actually it’s hard to do something that will spoil the face of Moscow under the current authority.

- Attraction of foreign investments is not a problem today, foreigners come to us, but do we need them here?

- Many foreign companies would like to invest money in construction in Moscow, but we have enough own resources and means now. Today it’s not easy for a foreign investor to work its way up to our market, it’s necessary to pass through competitions and tenders. But there are unique objects where attraction of foreigners, in opinion of the experts, is rather preferable.

- It is known that not only foreign companies work in Moscow but also the Moscow companies build in other countries.

- The classical example of foreign investment is Mongolia. The Moscow builders have constructed five 9-storey houses in Ulan Bator. The second turn is construction of five more houses. Due to the efforts of Moscow the services of three Moscow companies were enlisted there and despite of all hardships they came down that business. These houses were put in operation at the solemn ceremony with the participation of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov last autumn. The Mongolian side expressed a great gratitude to the first deputy head of the Department of city construction policy, development and reconstruction of Moscow, Mr Korolevsky, who directly and successfully deals with organization of these works in the CIS and non-CIS countries as well as in Russian regions.

Last summer the negotiations with participation of the Moscow mayor were held in Bishkek. It is planned to find a way of commercial housing construction in Kirghiz capital by means of the Moscow companies. An integral part of our relations with the CIS countries is Moscow Houses in these countries. So construction of Moscow House is planned in Bishkek, a business center is under construction in Astana, the matter concerning other countries is considered. Moscow House in Yerevan is scheduled to be commissioned the current year. These houses become the centers of our influence, in a good understanding of this word, in the friendly countries.

- Which Moscow companies work abroad?

- First of all it is JSC Zarubezhstroy (participation in construction of more than 300 objects in Asia, Africa, Indochina, in Near and Middle East and other countries since 1962), JSC Concern MonArkh (construction of a Moscow cultural business center in Yerevan (Armenia), State Unitary Enterprise UEZ – an administration company (realized projects in Dushanbe (Republic Tajikistan). There are also other companies participating in construction abroad.

- Do you often communicate with foreigners? What is their attitude towards the Moscow of today?

- Their estimation coincides with mine. As I have been to many cities of the world, I can say that Moscow is one of the most beautiful megapolises in the planet. There is every reason to be proud of our capital. It has been improved for the past 10 years, it is a personal merit of Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and his colleague, the first deputy mayor at the Moscow City Government, Vladimir Resin, and certainly of all Moscow builders.