Privately held Avcom and state-owned Russian Technologies (Rostec) have teamed up on a new FBO project in Moscow area. Avcom president Eugeny Bakhtin, who previously established FBOs at Moscow’s Sheremetievo and Domodedovo airports, announced the $60- to $80-million project at Business Aviation Forum 2014, held in Moscow the day before the opening of JetExpo 2014.
Rostec is working on the joint venture through its TVK Rossiya subsidiary, which owns real estate and buildings at the historic Ramenskoye Airport near the town of Zhukovsky, south of Moscow. Ramenskoye has served as Russia’s primary aircraft flight-test station since the 1930s and became famous for the biennial MAKS airshow held there since the early 1990s. Ramenskoye is also famous for having Europe’s longest runway—in excess of 5,000 meters (16,404 feet).
Last year, Rostec sealed a pact with Avcom, under which a patch of land at the airport’s southeast corner would go to a specially created joint venture called the International Center of Business Aviation (Russian acronym MTsDA). Bakhtin characterized the JV as “a promising private-public partnership, which will provide exemplary technological schemes and solutions for serving private, corporate and governmental aircraft.” General aviation operations are among the activities he envisions.
Bakhtin maintained that the strict security at Ramenskoye is a positive element for business travelers, “who want to fly safe and discrete.” TVK’s area of responsibility covers real estate- and airport-related issues, acquiring government and authorities’ approvals when necessary, conducting VIP flight charter operations, administering hangar storage and related services. Avcom’s responsibilities include establishing the FBO to top international standards and making sure it operates smoothly. The FBO joint-venture project is a part of the larger strategy called the National Aircraft-building Center (a business unit of airframing group United Aircraft Corp.).
Bakhtin said restoring existing buildings and facilities will be the preferred approach over all-new construction, wherever possible, and one historic building will be used as the core of a new 600-square-meter (6,459 square feet) terminal. Portions of the apron, some taxiways and parking areas are already available, along with a “few small buildings for operations, including a small terminal.” These facilities are being used for occasional business jet flights. Today, the apron and parking areas cover 25,000 square meters (269,000 square meters). Some 3,500 square meters (37,675 square feet) of hangar storage space is available, enough to accommodate Bombardier Challenger 850s.
When complete, the FBO will have a total of 35,000 square meters (376,750 square feet) of ramp and parking area. It will also have two separate hangars large enough to shelter a Boeing Business Jet or a Tupolev 204. Total hangar storage space will be 5,500 square meters (59,203 square feet). “In fact, the immediate requirement was for a Superjet and a Gulfstream G650 – both of which are currently being operated by our partner – but we decided to make it even bigger for future expansion,” said Bakhtin. In addition to aircraft storage, the hangars will also accommodate maintenance service.
Bakhtin joked that Ramenskoye Airport’s code UUBW (“Uniform Uniform Bravo Whisky”) will resonate with the Russian character and be a further attraction of the new FBO to local business people.
