Pavel Karpunin, Partner, Head of the Project Finance and Public-Private Partnership (PPP) practice, took part in a meeting of InfraClub, the first closed informal expert club for infrastructure projects in Russia.

The topic of the first InfraClub meeting, which took place on March 16, 2017, was “Federal Antitrust Service against concession grantor payments.”

Leading experts and counsel, professional infrastructure investors, leaders in implementing and managing PPP projects and heads of Russian government authorities took part in the open discussion on the position of the Federal Antitrust Service (“FAS”) concerning concessions involving a concession grantor payment.

In the course of discussion, the participants discussed the negative attitude of the antitrust authority toward use of the above-mentioned payment scheme. The issue related to prospects of projects involving a concession grantor payment, which are already being implemented, was raised as well. The meeting participants pointed out that it is important to articulate a unified opinion of the expert community on the position of the FAS in order to maintain a favorable investment climate in Russia and develop infrastructure.

To ensure further effective work on solving problems with implementing infrastructure projects, the participants planned a series of measures, one of most important being to support the requirements determined by the Republic of Bashkortostan State Committee.

General information

InfraClub is a closed informal voluntary professional club of infrastructure projects market participants devoted to deep analysis and discussion of problems related to infrastructure development in Russia.