PPF opens its first shopping centre in Russia: The M5 MALL in the city of Ryazan

PPF Real Estate Russia, a division of PPF Group, acted as project developer and manager of the development of the M5 Mall shopping and entertainment centre, while Czech company PSJ acted as contractor. PSJ has a number of contracts for industrial, commercial and residential projects in the Russian market. Work started on this challenging development in December 2009. A large part of the work was carried out by Czech companies, including the production capacities of PSJ and its Ekoklima subsidiary.

Financing for the investment of more than EUR 100 million in the project was secured from Česká exportní banka and Exportní garanční a pojišťovací společnost.

The centre is situated in an easily accessible location on a crossroads of two trunk roads – the Moscow motorway and the city ring road – and offers 2,500 parking places and a free shuttle bus to and from the city centre. In addition to the shopping and eating facilities, the centre also offers a multiplex cinema, a unique picture theatre with 7D technology and a children’s corner. 

Tomáš Laštovka, PPF Real Estate Russia Executive Director, said: “Betting on regional projects has been a smart move – from day one public interest has been enormous. It is not possible to find a similar mall in a city with a population of less than a million anywhere else in Russia so for Ryazan and its surrounding area this is a truly unique project. We were able to benefit from our co-operation with the contractor PSJ and the experience they have gained from operating in the Russian market. As developers, the PPF name has proved to be a guarantee of reliability and commitment to the region. We have seen great demand for jobs at the mall. The centre will offer altogether more that 2,000 job opportunities and numerous contracts for local companies and it will also contribute considerable taxes to the local district. In the short to medium term we will continue to focus on similar projects across Russia, although our longer term objective is to use this experience gained regionally to develop projects in the lucrative Moscow market.”