Kazan Airport at the All-Russian Conference on E-Commerce and Integrated Services

On October 25, General Director of Kazan Airport Sergey Romantsov took part in a plenary session within the All-Russian Conference on E-Commerce and Integrated Services.

The event was opened with a welcoming speech by President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and “Volga-Dnepr” Group’s Chairman of the Board Directors Alexey Isaikin.

Rustam Minnikhanov stressed that a number of major infrastructure projects are being implemented in the republic and a master plan for the development of Kazan International Airport until 2050 is being developed. Сross-border e-commerce is another important area for the republic. Last year, Tatarstan was among the regions where an experiment in organizing bond zones was initiated by creating a separate free economic zone.

"There is no doubt that the construction of a bond zone on our territory will be an additional impetus for the development of trade, both at the Russian and international levels," added President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov.

Alexey Isaikin noted that during the pandemic year and a half the cargo logistics that provoked the growth of e-commerce has become very much in demand. At the same time, Moscow, which receives and unloads cargo flights connecting Europe and China, was overloaded. Similar problems are also observed in other major cities in the world: previous models of passenger and cargo hubs do not stand the Covid.

"Constant problems in Chicago, Frankfurt. Even a well-functioning German car failed this exam. Much the same thing is happening in China: a series of collapses in Shanghai. Customers and we began to look for airports that are most interested in accepting cargo flows, and can offer the appropriate infrastructure. In Russia, we have found such a place — Kazan, " said Isaikin. — For 1.5 years, we have done tremendous work to redirect some of the cargo flows. At first it was masks, ALV that was required last year. Now the structure has changed, but the content does not change fundamentally: goods related to lives are the most in demand, including through e-commerce channels," said the “Volga-Dnepr” Group’s Chairman of the Board Directors Alexey Isaikin.

Sergey Romantsov noted that together with the “Volga-Dnepr” Group of Companies, a project is being implemented to create a transport and logistics hub on the basis of the Kazan airport. More than 300 flights were performed on the route Western Europe-Kazan-China.

"A special place in our development is occupied by cargo infrastructure. As the pandemic has shown, cargo transportation has not only failing to stop, but on the contrary, has gained serious intensity. The development of e-commerce and the demand from the population for modern market places sets us the task of expanding our capabilities in terms of servicing cargo flights.

However, today the actual lack of a modern cargo terminal is a deterrent to the further development of cargo operations at the airport. With the growth of e-commerce and the further economic development of our Republic, Kazan Airport has a unique potential to start regular cargo transportation with full service.

The NAKO company estimates that the volume of cargo in Kazan is expected to grow from three and a half thousand (3 500) tons in 2019 to nine thousand (9 000) tonnes in 2030, and by 2050 will be close to around twenty thousand tons (20 000) per year", – said General Director of the airport "Kazan" Sergey Romantsov.