Profile | Moscow | Cities

Moscow: Russian Giant

Moscow is moving forward with a significant expansion programme which will see the creation of a new city district in the south of the Russian capital. The plans for the ‘New Moscow’ area will encompass around 149,000 hectares in total, providing 26,000 hectares of land for construction. The project’s residential development plans call for up to 30 million m2 of low-rise buildings, while a significant capacity of office space is also in development.

A number of major infrastructure projects are in the pipeline to make the new city district easily accessible by public transport. Some 100 km of new roads will be built over the next two years and the city government plans to invest RUB 50 bn (EUR 1.2 bn) in the large-scale development of the surrounding rail network.

Demand for retail property in the capital region is growing, with many global retailers looking to expand into the Russian market. Several major shopping developments opened their doors in 2012, including the 15,000 m2 Sviblovo Centre, while 2014 will see the opening of the 277,000 m2 Columbus mega-mall. Rents are largely expected to remain stable, although with vacancy rates close to zero in the most sought-after locations, Colliers International predicts that further growth is possible.

The local office market is buoyed by Moscow’s status as a global centre for financial services. Moscow is home to all of Russia’s leading financial institutions, including more than 600 banks and the leading Russian stock exchange. The Russian government has issued a strategic objective that Moscow should become Europe’s second-largest financial centre by 2020 and the creation of the necessary regulatory and legislative infrastructure is underway.