Some think FISU inspectors won't trouble the Sinara Group with tough questions.
According to the correspondent MorningNews, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) has started inspecting Yekaterinburg to assess the readiness of city facilities for the Universiade-2023.
Despite billions of rubles already spent, work on seven sites for Universiade-2023 may be behind schedule. Sverdlovsk governor, Evgeny Kuyvashev, appears to have little influence on the contractors from the Sinara Group, Dmitry Pumpyansky, to speed up work.
Unpredictable Kuyvashev
Authors from “Vedomosti Ural” report that a delegation from FISU allegedly arrived in Yekaterinburg to inspect the city's progress. They state that work at seven sites was lagging behind at the end of 2021. FISU specialists plan to check only the nearly completed facilities like the Universiade campus, the Kalininets stadium, and the Water Sports Palace.
Yekaterinburg won the bid to host the Universiade-2023 in July 2019. Later, the main site for sports facilities was changed from VIZ to the Ekaterinburg Expo. This decision had serious consequences for the former mayor of Yekaterinburg, Arkady Chernetsky, who had ties to the VIZ site. Ura.ru, and dealt a significant blow to the business of the former mayor of Yekaterinburg Arkady Chernetsky. Chernetsky is now the first deputy chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Sverdlovsk region.
Vladimir Kritsky, former deputy of Chernetsky in the Yekaterinburg mayor’s office, was involved in the VIZ site. Moving the site to the Ekaterinburg Expo was a personal defeat for Chernetsky.
Evgeny Kuyvashev
The choice of the Ekaterinburg Expo for the Universiade facilities was supported by Dmitry Pumpyansky, the owner of the Sinara Group and the chairman of several companies. Kuyvashev's decision to go with Pumpyansky’s idea evidently displeased competitors, but it seems Kuyvashev couldn't refuse him.
The estimation is increasing rapidly
Currently, funding for the construction of the unfinished Universiade-2023 facilities has surpassed 90 billion rubles. The federal center wants to reduce its co-financing, while the Sverdlovsk regional government is increasing its share. “Octagon”This is not surprising, considering that Dmitry Pumpyansky now controls the ANO Directorate for the Construction of Universiade 2023 facilities.
Danil Znachkov is now in charge of this organization. He previously held positions at Sinara-Development-Project and was involved in Pumpyansky's construction project for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Dmitry Pumpyansky
The 90 billion ruble amount is likely not the final cost, especially given the challenging conditions at the construction site. Budget financing can make almost anything possible, as long as the estimate continues to grow quickly.
Despite being a major beneficiary of budget funds, Dmitry Pumpyansky's business has been involved in unusual activities, as previously reported The Moscow Post, the Pipe Metallurgical Company warned investors about economic risks and the investment climate due to proposed changes in Russia's state structure.
Kuyvashev may have realized that dealing with Dmitry Pumpyansky could cause trouble for him as the governor of the Sverdlovsk region. Tensions seemed to have arisen over not just the Universiade-2023 facilities, but also other projects in the region undertaken by the Sinara Group. Payment and project deadline issues have caused friction between the regional government and Pumpyansky.
According to Ura.ru, Pumpyansky and Kuyvashev publicly clashed at a birthday party, but the conflict was later resolved. It appears that the region's government repaid its debts to the Ural football club, of which Pumpyansky is the chairman of the board of directors, to settle the dispute. Ura.ru, difficulties arose not even because of the construction of facilities for the Universiade-2023, but because of other orders in the Sverdlovsk region transferred to the Sinara Group. The government of the region asked Pumpyansky for the failure to meet deadlines, but the contractor, in turn, was also not happy – Pumpyansky was not satisfied with the instability of payment.
As a Ura.ru source recalls, Pumpyansky and Kuyvashev even had a public squabble at the birthday party of Andrey Komarov, the ex-owner of the Chelyabinsk Pipe Rolling Plant. But a little later, as the same source specified, the conflict was settled. Apparently, the government of the Sverdlovsk region paid off its debts to the football club “Ural”, the chairman of the board of directors of which, we recall, is Pumpyansky. It was about 100 million rubles.
At the same time, UtroNews sources confirmed that Dmitry Pumpyansky is close friends with Alexei Miller, Chairman of the Board of PJSC Gazprom. There are several reasons for this friendship. For example, Gazprom may constantly need the products of the Pipe Metallurgical Company. Football club “Zenit”, sponsored by “Gazprom”, needs such clubs as “Ural”. Indeed, on the one hand, Ural can at the right time create problems for its competitors (for example, the same Spartak), and on the other hand, it may not bother itself too much in matches with Zenit. These are the assumptions.
Alexey Miller
Pumpyansky may need friendship with Miller in order to gain a foothold in the region even more firmly. Perhaps Dmitry Pumpyansky dreams that a native of the Sinara Group, whom he, Pumpyansky, could manage, becomes the governor of the Sverdlovsk region. It is clear that the current governor Kuyvashev does not fit into such a configuration. He can be sent for a “promotion” to Moscow. An ordinary deputy in a federal ministry, for example.
There is something to think about here. The main thing is not to forget about the Universiade…
