Aleksandr Yaroslavskyy: There Is No Tent, And The Terminal Is Under Construction

In the framework of the program of public control over Ukraine’s preparations for Euro-2012 Kyiv journalists visited Kharkiv. Representatives of Ukrainian mass media were able to personally assess the level of preparedness of the main facilities of EURO 2012 and watch the works that are going on there. The special feature of the press tour was the opportunity to talk to Aleksandr Yaroslavskyy – the owner of the DCH Group, the general investor of Kharkiv’s preparations for Euro-2012. <BR>- DCH Group was one of the Ukrainian pioneers in terms of investments into infrastructural projects. Are the local authorities ready to cooperate with you, are they sympathetic to your initiatives? Do they hinder your activities or support them?<BR>- I will quote Mr Surkis and Mr Taylor who have noted that the works are being implemented jointly in Kharkiv and the authorities cooperate with the business. It is truly so. I can definitely confirm that we have no disagreements or disputes between us, only working discussions. We enjoy full support from both the regional and city authorities. I am not saying it to make an impression on TV, it is the honest truth.<BR>- You mean there were no doubts like ‘a company will come and build an airport for itself…’<BR>- Well, it has not actually come from outside, I have been living in Kharkiv since 1968, therefore it is quite easy for the local authorities to audit my company. The airport is our regional project; it is, so to say, the air gate to the Kharkov Region to be used by the residents and guests of the city. How can we invest into anything when there is no quality airport in Kharkiv?&nbsp; Who will come here? The first thing that people see is the airport. Therefore the payback period was not that important (though we definitely took it into consideration) – it was essential to see how this project would fit our region. Everybody was waiting for this development, everybody had doubts and thought there would be a tent instead a terminal. You see, however, there is no tent, and the terminal is under construction.<BR>- Do the authorities support you, make things easier, reduce taxes?<BR>- No, we regularly pay all the taxes. The authorities’ help consists in less paperwork in obtaining permits and fast approval of documents – here we feel their support.<BR>- During the parliament proceedings on Euro-2012 Surkis said in an interview with Polish TV that what he saw in Kharkiv accompanying Taylor was a real revelation for him. What did he mean? <BR>-&nbsp; We would like to kindly invite Mr Surkis to visit us more often, then there will be fewer discoveries. Though it was a revelation for him, we are happy to have made such a surprise for him. It is natural that due to his business he cannot visit regions that often. And to launch such an ambitious development project under the current challenging circumstances (I don’t like the word crisis) is not an easy task.<BR>