Zakhar Smushkin started construction of the "Smart City" near St. Petersburg

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Zakhar Davidovich Smushkin, head of the Start Development construction company, has launched the first stage of the Yuzhny smart satellite city project, which will be built in the Pushkinsky district of the Leningrad region.

As it became known in the summer of 2016, the first stage of development with an area of 200 hectares will not be sold in small areas to a pool of developers. Instead, Start Development will choose only one company as a buyer.

According to the plan of Zakhar Smushkin, the selected developer will have to build real estate on this site with a total area of about 1 million square meters. m. for 5 years. At the same time, he will be able to pay for the transaction in installments: first, he will equip the necessary infrastructure at his own expense, and he will be able to pay the rest in the course of the sale of residential real estate he built. On the territory of St. Petersburg, this transaction will be the largest in the last few years.years.

The choice in favor of this method of implementing project stages is due to several reasons. Firstly, it is much easier to coordinate the development concept, architecture, and sales strategy with one developer. And secondly, the territory acquired by a large developer makes neighboring plots more attractive, and, as a result, their price increases.

Zakhar Smushkin's project - the satellite city of Yuzhny - should become one of the major economic centers in the Leningrad region. It is worth citing some data in order to assess the scale: for the construction, a site was purchased on both sides of the M20 highway - Kievskoe highway, the total area is 2012 hectares; the total area of residential real estate - 4.9 million square meters. m., it is designed for at least 170 thousand people; construction of at least 60 pre-school educational institutions, 30 schools, 10 medical centers for the whole family is envisaged; the total area of commercial and industrial real estate - 1.5 million square meters. m., it is designed to create more than 60 thousand jobs; the total investment amounted to 209 billion rubles; the total duration of the project is 19 years.

This project compares favorably with many others being implemented in large cities in its concept: the city will be low-rise, its space will be comfortably integrated into the environment, and housing is designed for the middle class at a cost. The population density will be less than in the northern capital, at least twice.

As Zakhar Smushkin noted, when drawing up an urban planning policy, one should always remember not only aboutorganization of living space, but also infrastructure and jobs. There are about a thousand hectares in the Yuzhny project, that is, almost half is allocated for the placement of a cluster of innovative production, a campus at ITMO, and recreational areas.

Innovation City of Science and Technology at the St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technology, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO) will become a kind of "silicon valley" in miniature: it will carry out all stages of the production process of innovative products.

The main feature of this project is the extensive introduction of innovations in the organization of living space - part of the electricity will be generated by solar panels, and electric buses will become municipal transport, whose arrival can be tracked using mobile applications.

The construction of a whole city near the northern capital cannot do without the development of infrastructure and transport networks. This aspect is also included in the implementation of the project.

More about the author of the project.

Biography of Zakhar Smushkin

Zakhar Smushkin is one of the most successful businessmen in Russia.

He is primarily known as the founder and chairman of the board of directors of the Ilim pulp and paper concern, the largest not only in the Russian Federation, but also in Europe.

Born in St. Petersburg on January 23, 1962. He received his secondary education here. Smushkin from childhood was distinguished by enthusiasm, perseverance, patience. At school he studied diligently and did not create problemsparents.

Zakhar Davidovich also decided to continue his education in his native city, he entered the Leningrad Institute of the Pulp and Paper Industry. This period formed Smushkin's idea of the area in which he would carry out his activities after graduation. Seriously interested in the speci alty, in 1984 Smushkin takes another important step in mastering the profession - he enters the magistracy. Zakhar Davidovich successfully combines the writing of his Ph. D. work with work in his speci alty - a researcher at NPO Hydrolizprom.

After defending his Ph. D., Zakhar Smushkin, having broad knowledge in the speci alty and work experience, easily gets the position of head of the technical department at the international enterprise Technoferm-engineering. Thanks to the professionalism of a young specialist, the company manages to attract investments and subsequently modernize production technologies.

In 1992, with the support of the management of Technoferm-Engineering and colleagues, the Zingarevich brothers, Zakhar Smushkin forms the organization CJSC Ilim Pulp Enterprise, where he holds the post of General Director from the moment of establishment until 2001. And from 2001 to 2007 - the post of chairman of the board of directors.

In parallel with this, from 1996 to 1998, Zakhar Smushkin was a member of the Supervisory Board of Vneshtorgbank (VTB), which allowed him to deepen his knowledge in the field of economics and finance, and since 2001 he has been a member of the Expert Council for economic development and investment inPlenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District.

Initially, the organization was created as a small-scale exporter of pulp, but quickly managing to accumulate capital from this activity, it switches entirely directly to the forest industry. Ilim begins to actively integrate industry enterprises into its structure, during the first few years of operation, it acquires more than 30 logging enterprises. Among them, two of the largest can be noted: the Kotlas Pulp and Paper Mill (acquired in 1994) and the Ust-Ilimsk Timber Complex (acquired in 2000).

Zakhar Davidovich Smushkin, as CEO of the Ilim group of companies, did something almost unbelievable: in the conditions of the economy stagnating against the backdrop of the collapse of the USSR, he united more than 30 enterprises into the largest paper industry concern in the Russian Federation. By doing this, he literally saved the industry itself, creating a positive trend in the financial and technical performance of enterprises; saved many jobs, and also gave a new round of development to the economy of the entire Russian North-Western District. By 2001, Ilim was already actively operating in European markets.

Zakhar Smushkin is not only a specialist in his field, a talented businessman and an effective manager, but also an innovator: for the first time in Russia, it was he who applied vertical integration technology, which allows for more efficient management of both a large number of enterprises themselves and business processes running in them.

In 2007the Ilim holding was restructured into the Ilim Group open joint stock company in order to increase the efficiency of work. In the company, Zakhar Davidovich also holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors to the present. Thanks to the restructuring, the company, despite the crisis that hit the global economy in 2008, was able to maintain positive growth rates of technical and financial indicators.

Currently OJSC Ilim Group of Companies is the largest company in the forestry and pulp and paper industry not only in Russia, but also in Europe. Here are just a few statistics to gauge the scale of her work:

- Every year, the company harvests over 10 million cubic meters of raw wood

- The company's share in pulp, boxboard and paper produced in Russia is 75%, 77% and 10% respectively.

But Ilim is not limited to providing only the domestic market. Thus, by exporting bleached softwood and hardwood pulp to the People's Republic of China, the company covers one third of the needs of the country with one and a half billion people in this product.

As we see from the above statistics, the group of companies has an unprecedented scale of production. In such conditions, it is especially important to comply with all prescribed environmental regulations. Zakhar Davidovich, as the head of Ilim, copes with this task perfectly: the enterprise strictly controls compliance with all necessary environmental standards. In addition to the obligatory part of work in this area, Smushkin alsocarries out activities on his own initiative: he has a membership in the Council for the Development of the Forest Complex under the Government of the Russian Federation and makes recommendations for the improvement and development of the country's forest we alth. In addition, Ilim provides all possible assistance in the implementation of environmental protection measures, both at the state and international levels. In general, control over compliance with environmental standards is carried out not only within the framework of obligations - by government organizations or the enterprise itself, but also by ordinary citizens: volunteers, employees of non-governmental institutions, simply concerned citizens, as well as students of schools and higher educational institutions are often involved in its implementation. One of the main vectors of Ilim's work in the field of ecology is a positive balance of planting and cutting forest areas, i.e. their growth. As already noted, Ilim also assists international organizations in terms of nature protection. For example, in 2012, a group of companies began to cooperate with WWF. On the initiative of Zakhar Davidovich, the Verkhnevashkinsky forest area in the Arkhangelsk region is under the patronage of Ilim. It is not protected at the legislative level, so the company rents it on a charitable basis under an agreement on a moratorium on cutting down this area.

OJSC Ilim Group of Companies is one of the most transparent and accessible for civil control not only in the environmental, but also in the financial sector.

The company leads the Russian market in terms of the degree of innovation: financial, technical, managerial. This allows hermaintain positive growth even during the period of exacerbation of the influence of crisis factors in the country.

Zakhar Smushkin carries out activities not only within the framework of the management of the Ilim Group of Companies. In 2007, the restructuring carried out on it made it possible to release financial resources for business development in other directions.

In the same 2007, Smushkin opens the Domovoy (formerly Start) supermarket chain in St. Petersburg, which carries out wholesale and retail trade in goods for minor repairs, for home and life.

In the same year, Smushkin created a construction development company "Start Development" in the cultural capital. At the moment, her largest and most famous project is the construction of the satellite town of Yuzhny, located in the Pushkinsky district of St. Petersburg.

The second largest project of Start Development is the Doni-Verevo industrial park in the northern part of the Gatchinsky district of St. Petersburg. The area of the park will be 185 hectares, about 30 production and logistics (warehouse) enterprises will be located on this territory.

Besides this, "Start Development" is also engaged in a number of smaller projects. Among them are Golden Keys - a low-rise building area, Tayberry - plots for summer cottage development, as well as plots for housing construction in the Gatchinsky and Pushkinsky districts of St. Petersburg. The total "land bank" of the company has more than 40 million square meters. m.

The scope of Zakhar Davidovich's activityvery large, and in general we can say that he makes a huge contribution to the development of the economy of the North-Western District of the Russian Federation, and in particular his native St. Petersburg.

As in the case of the environmental side of the issue of the functioning of the largest pulp and paper enterprise, Zakhar Davidovich, owning a construction company, is actively involved in the discussion of urban planning issues. As, for example, in 2016 at the II International Forum of Spatial Development, held on September 26-27 in St. Petersburg. Smushkin noted the relevance of the issue of polycentric development of the city against the backdrop of the implementation of such large projects as the construction of the satellite city "Yuzhny" in the Pushkinsky district and the public and business complex "Lakhta Center" in the Primorsky district, which, among other things, involves the construction of the highest in Russia and Europe skyscraper. According to Zakhar Davidovich, such a vector for the development of the northern capital will be formed due to the presence in both projects of plans for providing jobs, as well as their multifunctionality.

In addition to doing business and actively discussing issues related to it, Zakhar Smushkin carries out educational activities as part of initiative government and business groups, as well as a lecturer in higher educational institutions.

He is a member of the State Technological University of Plant Polymers in St. Petersburg and is a member of its board, in addition, he has the status of an honorary doctor at the St. Petersburg State Forestry Engineering University named after S. M. Kirov. And withineducational activities introduces the latest technologies in the curricula of students. In addition to lecturing, Zakhar Smushkin provides jobs at the enterprises of the Ilim group for pre-graduation internships.

In addition, Zakhar Davidovich is a member of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, where he distributes vertical integration mechanisms developed personally and debugged at his own enterprises. These mechanisms have shown their effectiveness in bringing economic sectors out of stagnation using the example of Ilim.

Smushkin is also a member of the Council for the Development of the Forestry Complex of the Russian Federation under the Government of the Russian Federation, and has shown himself well at the highest government levels. So, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, notes that Zakhar Davidovich is a very valuable specialist in the forest industry.

Zakhar Davidovich Smushkin makes an invaluable contribution not only to the development of the Russian economy, but also seeks to modernize the areas in which he does business, while not forgetting about the environment. Also, one should not underestimate his contribution to the training of new personnel - with his knowledge and his own example, he teaches and motivates students.

In general, Smushkin's biography is an illustrative example of how a person from a simple family, thanks to his enthusiasm and perseverance, can reach very great heights. It is worth giving a list of his most significant achievements:

- Establishment of the largest paperboard and pulp company in Russia and Europe.

- First in the Russian Federation to introduce technologyvertical integration of enterprises.

- Member of the Presidium of the Russian Society of Entrepreneurs.

- Honorary Doctor at the St. Petersburg State Forest Engineering University named after S. M. Kirov, Honorary Professor at the St. Petersburg State Technological University of Plant Polymers.

- Rating of the most successful businessmen: 37th place in the ranking, the amount of capital - 52nd.

- Rating of the richest businessmen in Russia according to Forbes magazine - 114th place.

- "Rating of billionaires", edition, - 6th place (108 billion rubles).

However, as the latest news says, in January 2017, Zakhar Smushkin entered the TOP-30 most influential people in St. Petersburg, taking 29th place in it. The satellite city project promoted by the businessman is being discussed by the federal center and Smolny, in general, in society, the very idea of such a construction of a new-format city evokes neutral and positive emotions: people will receive well-maintained, comfortable residential areas, the city will be invested (for example, it was recently announced about signing of an agreement on technological cooperation between IBM Corporation and Start-development in the design and construction of a satellite city).

Family, hobbies

Besides the fact that Zakhar Smushkin is a very successful businessman, he is also an exemplary family man. He and his wife are raising a son. Otherwise, little is known about his personal life, since he and his family do not seek to shock the media and lead a non-public, rather modest life. Among theirHobbies Zakhar Davidovich calls chess and tennis. In addition, he is passionate about collecting paintings, preferring Russian painters at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, among them Vrubel notes as a favorite artist.

However, Smushkin's interest in the world of art is not limited to Russian painters. Thus, on November 12, 2016, the Small Hermitage Museum opened an exhibition of Japanese art from the Meiji era called “Perfection in the Details”. All exhibits for her were provided by Zakhar Davidovich from a personal collection, carefully collected over a rather long period of time.

As the businessman himself noted, work in the "material world" makes a person more cynical and pragmatic, while collecting art, including arts and crafts, contributes to spiritual development, knowledge of the world. The exhibits presented at the exhibition, the skill with which they are made, reflect the evolution of many philosophical questions of mankind.

In the future, the entire personal collection of Smushkin will be placed on permanent display in a museum in the satellite town of Yuzhny, since, according to the businessman, the work on this project prompted him to start collecting.