A world-class exhibition center is being built in Belarus. The owner of "expobel" will build a large tennis center in a green meadow

The plot for the construction of a tennis center in the north-east of Minsk with an area of ​​2 hectares was allocated to the company "Eria" on the basis of a decree of the President of Belarus. The object will be erected in the Zeleny Lug microdistrict, in the recreational zone of the Slepyanskaya water system, its planned area is 7 thousand square meters. m. One of the largest sports and health center in the Belarusian capital will include four indoor tennis courts, squash courts, a health complex with a 25-meter swimming pool, gyms, and a restaurant with 100 seats. The project also includes outdoor tennis courts and grounds for beach tennis and mini-football.
At present, the British company Leslie Jones Architecture is developing architectural and construction projects for this facility, and the architects and engineers of Belzarubezhstroy are adapting them to Belarusian standards. Initially, the customer formulated the main idea as follows: “to offer the Belarusian client something different from what is already available in Belarus, i.e. fundamentally new: architecture, aesthetics and interior created by European architects,” the press service of Belzarubezhstroy reported.
It should be noted that this is not the first experience of cooperation between Leslie Jones Architecture and the company of Piotr Sinkevich. Previously, this British architectural bureau developed a concept for the expansion and reconstruction of the largest shopping center in Minsk, Expobel, within the walls of which Alexander Lukashenko recently dealt with the problematic issues of the activities of the Ipeshniks.

Clothing and construction markets. Today the complex is operating as usual, and the owners have plans for its large-scale reconstruction . the site found out what changes entrepreneurs and buyers need to prepare for.

The development of a new project of the Expobel shopping center began at the end of 2013, the co-owner clarifies Piotr Sinkevich. "The shopping and entertainment center was put into operation 8 years ago, so there was a need for its reconstruction. To develop a draft design, we turned to the international architectural bureau Leslie Jones Architecture, which thought over the concept of the development of Expobel", - Peter Sinkevich explains the reasons for the reconstruction.

The British company employs high-level architects. "It was important to us that the renovation process be as smooth as possible for both mall visitors and tenants. Leslie Jones Architecture designers have worked on some of the most significant shopping mall projects around the world, and their professional experience has allowed the renovation process to be carried out without significant damage to its work at all stages of construction", - specifies the development adviser of "Expobel" Evgeny Perventsev.

The Committee for Architecture and Urban Planning of the Minsk City Executive Committee has already approved a draft version of the reconstruction. Now the development of the architectural project is being completed.

"Although the economic situation is deteriorating, we are trying to improve the operation of the complex, to make it more attractive to buyers.For this, a group of specialists and consultants is working, which understands how to build the complex correctly, so that tenants who are worried about the upcoming changes will also feel good." , - says the co-owner of the shopping and entertainment center.

Not all tenants really support the reconstruction of the trade and exhibition complex. Some of them complain that because of the construction of buyers, who are already few, will decrease. In addition, entrepreneurs fear that rents may rise due to moving to new pavilions.

In response to the dissatisfaction of some tenants, Petr Sinkevich recalls how in 2002 entrepreneurs did not want to move from the Aquabel clothing wholesale market, which was located 500 meters from the current shopping center. "How much effort it took to convince them of the need for this step.Then the entrepreneurs were also indignant, they said, why are you building a new facility if there is a market. And having moved 13 years ago to a new exhibition complex, they received comfortable conditions on a fundamentally new level. Later life forced it - it was rebuilt into a shopping center. Now there is a need for its reconstruction"- says Piotr Sinkevich.

Some inconvenience for both entrepreneurs and buyers is indispensable, the co-owner of Expobel agrees. " But we will try to minimize them. We either reconstruct a new shopping center and develop further, or remain at the same level, eventually turning into an archaic shopping center", - Piotr Sinkevich clarified.

New food market, road and underpass

At the first stage of reconstruction, the management of Expobel plans to complete the interior decoration in the building of the multifunctional center in 1.5-2 months, which is located on the back side of the main complex ( on the map - marked with a red circle. - Approx. website). By September, a food market will be located here, where they will sell meat, dairy products, vegetables, fruits, and groceries. "This market will be a continuation of the existing shopping center and will be similar in format to European city bazaars.The entrance to the market will be from both the construction market and the main center" - clarifies Piotr Sinkevich.

Both fruit and vegetable traders from the current open area and new entrepreneurs will move to the multifunctional center. The existing open food market will continue to work in its original place, the co-owner of the center assured.

Next to the multifunctional center will be placed open markets - construction and automotive.

"In parallel with the work in the multifunctional center to improve traffic conditions at the entrance to the shopping and entertainment complex, the arrangement of a traffic-free entrance from Miroshnichenko Street is being completed", - said Evgeny Perventsev. For this, three pavilions had to be moved at the construction market. Two entrepreneurs agreed to the move, they were provided with new sites on the same terms, another refused.

"Agreements with these tenants were valid until June 30, 2015. All tenants affected by the transfer of retail space were notified within the time specified in the lease agreement about the need to move to a new site. The terms of lease of new retail space have not changed. In addition , at the time of the move they were provided with rental holidays"- added Evgeny Perventsev.

In the future, a pedestrian zone will be made on the site of the construction and automobile markets, and an expanded bypass road will occupy part of the territory.

A pedestrian bridge will appear over the road from the side of the Logoisk tract, and an underground passage will appear from the side of Miroshnichenko Street (in the area of ​​the current car market).

According to Piotr Sinkevich, Vehicles will be able to drive freely around the complex. " The problem of pedestrian safety will be solved, they will not cross the roadway, and motorists will leave their cars on the road.Traffic jams around and on the territory of the shopping complex will become a thing of the past", - says Piotr Sinkevich.

Vegetables and fruits will "move" under the roof

After the launch of the product center and the transfer of the construction and automotive markets, the second stage of reconstruction will begin. A new two-story building is planned to be erected in the place where the stalls with vegetables and fruits are now located. Its area will be 30 thousand square meters. For comparison: the area of ​​the current open clothing and food markets is 21,000 square meters.

"It is planned to transfer all open trading floors to the new building - clothing, automobile, construction, and food. Its area will be enough not only for current tenants, but also for new entrepreneurs.With the move to a new modern building, not only the conditions for buyers, but also the working conditions of the entrepreneurs themselves will improve dramatically", - Yevgeny Perventsev voices his plans.

Until a new two-story trading building is built, the open clothing market (also called the Chinese one) will work in its original place, the administration assures. Now entrepreneurs are installing canopies over the malls.

"The Council of Entrepreneurs appealed to the administration of the Expobel shopping center to agree on the placement of a hinged structure to protect visitors and goods from weather factors (rain, sun, etc.) in accordance with the project developed by a specialized organization. In turn, the administration assisted in coordinating the project with the Ministry of Emergency Situations. At this the project is currently undergoing additional approvals", - said the manager of "Expobel" Ilya Mikhailovsky.

A parking lot and a cinema will be built at Expobel

After the launch of the new building and the transfer of all open markets to it, the administration will begin the reconstruction of the main building of Expobel. In front of the main entrance to it, another building will be completed, in which the food hypermarket will move. On the other side of the main Expobel building, on the site of the current clothing market, which will be moved by that time, an indoor building will also be added. There will also be a multiplex cinema, a construction hypermarket, cafes and restaurants.

In parallel, it is planned to begin construction of a 4-storey parking lot for 2,500 cars. It will appear from the side of the multifunctional center. After the introduction of parking and new open parking lots, the number of parking spaces at Expobel will increase to 4,200.

In the future, another building will appear on this site, in which the hypermarket will be transferred

"In the future, Expobel will be a single building. Its area will be 145 thousand square meters. All buildings will be under the roof. It will work as a single shopping complex. There will be nothing on the street, except for part of the parking spaces", - Piotr Sinkevich voices his plans.

"No one will infringe entrepreneurs"

In the meantime, entrepreneurs have accumulated a lot of questions to the leadership of Expobel. For example, private equity firms in the construction and car markets are worried about their trading places and are worried that the rental rate will increase due to moving to a new trading floor. The administration of Expobel says that not a single entrepreneur will be left without a trading place during the reconstruction, and in July new contracts will be concluded with them, while the rental rate at the multifunctional center will not change during the construction of a new site.

"No one will infringe on entrepreneurs, the well-being of any shopping center directly depends on the success of tenants. Moreover, they do not intend to stop trading during the reconstruction period. In the future, it will be possible to transport goods to a new site near the multifunctional center, for example, on Monday, when the market is closed Our efforts will be aimed at ensuring that the market does not stand idle, especially in the current and so difficult economic conditions,- says Ilya Mikhailovsky.

Yevgeny Perventsev adds that when entrepreneurs from the construction and automotive markets move to a new open area, the rental rate will not increase. “As for the planned indoor building, no one can predict with mathematical accuracy what the economic situation will be in the world and in relation to rental rates in particular, for example, in two or three years. We monitor the situation with rental rates in the city and rebounding from the market indicators", - said Evgeny Perventsev.

And yet, some tenants from the construction market are going to move out. For example, the owner of a pavilion for the sale of paints and varnishes intends to rent a retail outlet in the new neighborhood of Kamennaya Gorka. "Rental prices are lower, you can find an option for 10 euros per square meter, and the flow of buyers is guaranteed for at least 4 years. And in this market it happens that I sell only a couple of goods in a week. In addition, in January we raised the rental rate by about by 30%", - the ipeshnik shared his plans.

"According to the generally accepted practice of the work of trade (as well as business) centers, the rental rate is denominated in conventional units. Accordingly, rental payments denominated in Belarusian rubles increased in proportion to the growth of the dollar / euro against the national currency over this period", Evgeny Perventsev drew attention.

"The main question is where will our market be moved. If it is to a multifunctional center, which is located behind the main market building, then we will have to move to another place. Now our kiosks are in advantageous places, the buyer can park the car a few meters from the mall, and the building of the multifunctional the center is a dead place in terms of traffic.If now there are more sellers on the market than buyers, then what will happen after the move?", - says Vladimir, an auto parts dealer.

The administration of "Expobel" reassures entrepreneurs that the relocated market will be located in a favorable location. Nearby will be the main building of the shopping complex, the food market, as well as parking for visitors.

VC Aquabel, Eria, Pan Market, real estate in Minsk and Minsk region, Expobel shopping and entertainment center, Aquabel business center, Aquabel sports and fitness center, agricultural branch in Minsk region, investments in residential real estate in Minsk and Minsk region.

Social activities, hobbies

Master of Sports of the USSR in Sambo, Master of Sports of the USSR in judo, multiple winner of the championships and cups of the BSSR and all-Union tournaments in 1975-1982, Honorary Consul of Nicaragua in Belarus.

Persons

Sergei and Alexander Sinkevichi (partners, brothers), Anatoly Shumchenko (head of the entrepreneurial association Perspektiva), Boris Batura (former head of the Minsk region).

Facts

The reorganization of shopping complexes, which was started by Piotr Sinkevich, expectedly aroused the indignation of the tenants. In mid-2015, when entrepreneurs in the automotive and construction markets were told that their lease was expiring and that they needed to move to a new location, the conflict came to a head. But in the end, the businessman, who had previously successfully dealt with an intra-corporate conflict, managed to solve this problem as well.

As part of the business development program, Piotr Sinkevich planned to transfer all markets (automobile, construction and clothing) to indoor premises, create additional infrastructure and build a parking lot and a cinema. The area of ​​Expobel after the completion of the project will increase to 145 thousand square meters.

In March 2015, Alyaksandr Lukashenka visited Piotr Sinkevich's Expobel complex, after a long break, he decided to personally discuss problems with the IPCs. The immediate reason for the meeting was the intention of the state to ban from May 1, 2015 the sale of the remains of light industry products imported from the countries of the Customs Union without relevant documents on its origin. As a result, this period was extended until January 1, 2016.

In 2015, Piotr Sinkevich announced the launch of a new project located in geographical proximity to his complexes. The Eria company owned by him planned to build a sports and recreation complex with tennis courts in the Zeleny Lug microdistrict. Its area will be 7 thousand square meters. meters.

The huge blue inscription "Expobel", which has shot up at a height of 25 meters on the eastern outskirts of Minsk, behind the Zeleny Lug-5 and 6 microdistricts, arouses the interest of everyone passing by and passing by. Most residents of Minsk and guests of the Belarusian capital know that there is a clothing market here, which was previously located at the Aquabel located 150 meters away. At the same time, not many are aware of the fact that a modern world-class exhibition center with all the necessary infrastructure will appear on the site of the construction that has unfolded here in the next 2-3 years.

The fact that a private company, which does not ask anything from anyone, has undertaken the implementation of a grandiose and really important project for the state, is an almost unique case for us. This circumstance prompted "NEG" to take an interest not only in the project, but also in the opinion of "interested" about it.

"AQUABEL" builds "EXPOBEL"

The chairman of ZAO "Exhibition Center "Aquabel", professor of BSATU Petr Nikolaevich Sinkevich agreed to talk about the new project in an exclusive interview with the NEG.

Petr Nikolayevich, there has been a lot of talk about Aquabel and Expobel lately: some regret the transfer of the wholesale market from their "familiar" place, others doubt the expediency of building new markets, when land for the construction of supermarkets is being actively sold, others generally talk about that something other than a market is being built there. Please reveal the secret to the readers of "NEG", what is "Expobel" and what is their relationship with "Aquabel"?

- "Expobel" is a trade and exhibition complex, which is being built by a private enterprise CJSC "EC" Aquabel ", therefore, they have related relations, this is, firstly. Secondly, the shopping malls in the form of kiosks and containers that are located here at present, it is part, and the smallest, of the large trade and exhibition complex "Expobel" under construction. According to the project prepared by the Belarusian-German company "Belprombauplan consult GmbH", the indoor area of ​​the complex will be 100 thousand square meters. The territory will house exhibition pavilions, open exhibition grounds, parking lots for more than 3 thousand seats and 2 administrative buildings, which will house a bank, a post office, a telegraph office, a first-aid post, a press center, a conference hall for 300 seats, and a fast food cafe. conceived as a structure of 2 blocks.The first two-storey shopping block will consist of 2 halls of 9200 sq.m. industrial goods and household equipment. The second block is exhibition. These will be two halls of 9000 sq.m. They are supposed to hold international exhibitions and fairs, entertainment and sports events. The trading floor will house two more cafes for 200 seats.

But that's not all. We hope that "Expobel" will become the first trading town in Belarus with restaurants, cinemas, children's entertainment areas. Its visitors will be able to spend time in the bowling alley, casino, disco. All this will be built here, on the territory of the complex.

Where, then, is the place of the current market with its kiosks and containers in the structure of a new and, obviously, modern complex?

I believe that there is a buyer for every type of product, and I think that shopping malls of kiosks and containers, like ours, will always exist on a par with supermarkets and boutiques. In any case, we will not remove them forcibly until they are in demand by the consumer.

Nevertheless, in the view of the majority of the population, Aquabel and Expobel are markets. How did the idea of ​​creating a market transform into the idea of ​​creating an exhibition complex?

The process was just the opposite. With the idea of ​​creating an exhibition center, we in 1998. built "Aquabel". At that time, however, as now, Belarus had an exhibition complex "BelEXPO", insignificant by world standards, of 3,000 sq.m. On the basis of such a complex, it is difficult to hold a prestigious exhibition that would be of interest to serious participants. Maybe they don’t come to us because there is nowhere to invite them?

Then, in 1995, we decided to create an exhibition complex working for agriculture, and called it the research and production center "Agribusiness".

In September 1999 exhibition company CJSC "AquabelEXPO" held an exhibition of computer equipment "Infobel" on the basis of the center, and in October 1998. - Exhibition "Special transport". The financial result did not satisfy the organizers. The total area of ​​the exhibition halls at that time was not that big - only 4.5 thousand square meters, the hotel complex was not put into operation, which at that time determined the great prestige of the exhibitions at BelEXPO. It turned out that for half a year we were thinking about what to do with the empty squares.

May 2000 we hosted an agricultural fair of the Minsk region, which laid the foundation for the clothing market. Just at that time, the kiosks were removed from the Komarovsky market, and people poured in here.

So imperceptibly, even for the organizers themselves, a market appeared in the form of trading rows of containers and kiosks - a strange, spontaneous formation.

- "Expobel" began to be built because the idea of ​​building an exhibition complex did not leave you, or were there some other reasons?

I really didn't want to give up on the idea. But there were other reasons as well. The beginning of the reconstruction of the ring road and the tasks assigned to the Ministry of Transport for its commissioning by October 2002. forced the management of CJSC "EC" Aquabel "to reconsider the timing and pace of construction of the new complex and plan the commissioning of the first stage within the same time frame. Moreover, we were warned in writing that with the opening of the Moscow Ring Road, the entrance from it should be closed to ensure traffic safety .

During the year, electric substations, parking lots, open exhibition areas with all engineering communications were built, to which the trading rows of kiosks and containers were transferred.

- Petr Nikolayevich, how soon do you plan to "make happy" the capital with a modern exhibition complex?

By the end of this year, we intend to commission trade and exhibition halls and an office building. In 2004 -- the main exhibition pavilion and a complex of entertainment and recreation for exhibition visitors. Thus, by the end of 2004, if nothing interferes with us, Belarus, like all European capitals, will have its own trading town, where you can buy everything you need, visit an exhibition, take part in it, and relax. But, I emphasize, first of all, this is an exhibition complex, trade only accompanies it.

"We have been waiting for this pavilion for a long time"

The turnover of funds in this area of ​​our neighbor and ally Russia, which accounts for about 50% of all exhibition events held in the territory of the former USSR, has reached 250-300 million USD. The number of business entities working in this and related areas has exceeded one thousand.

In countries such as Germany and the United States, the income associated with exhibition activities exceeds 5 and 12 billion USD, respectively.

Just as the Russian market is inferior to the American and European ones, the Belarusian market is lagging behind the Russian one. In 2000 the turnover of funds in the Belarusian exhibition activities amounted to 7 million USD. In the last two years, such statistics were not kept at all, but the changes (if any) are hardly cardinal. There are 6 exhibition companies and a couple of dozens of allied companies working on the domestic market.

Therefore, the initiative of a private domestic company to create a modern exhibition complex in the capital with all the necessary infrastructure looks extremely attractive.

True, it is somewhat unusual for Belarus, which is timidly entering the path of the market, that a private company intends to build a large and modern exhibition complex. "It seems to me that only the state can master such a project. Its payback period is at least 10 years. What commercial organization would go for it?" - Alexey Ivanovich LAZUKO, General Director of the National Exhibition Center "BelEXPO", shared his doubts in an interview with the "NEG" correspondent.

Irina Vladimirovna MAHORKINA,

Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Trade, Head of the Department of Exhibitions and Fairs of the Ministry of Trade:

"I'm glad that there are such grandiose plans"

Of course, there is not enough exhibition space in Belarus. We are faced with the problem of accommodating everyone every time when large exhibitions are held, for example, automobile, construction.

Therefore, if everything that the organizers have planned is really built and at the same time they can create all the conditions necessary for exhibitions, it will be good.

As a specialist who has spent 20 years organizing exhibitions, I want to warn you that the difficulty lies not so much in the construction of such a complex as in the possibilities of its full operation. The 18,000 sq.m that Expobel intends to offer already at the first stage is twice as much as the two complexes that exist today. But both sites are engaged in one exhibition no more than three times a year (automobile, construction and food). Will there be enough people willing to occupy the created areas? After all, the largest exhibition company "BelEXPO" has its own pavilions, and its desire to effectively exploit them is natural.

I would like to wish success to those who have undertaken this task. If everything works out, we will be happy to cooperate with them. So far, this complex does not exist. Perhaps, as is often the case, they will decide to occupy all the malls, realizing that organizing an international exhibition is a very difficult and troublesome business.