"BEAC launches first public-private partnership projects in space and industry"

BEAC is launching the first public-private partnership projects in space and industry, Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of the bank's board, told Izvestia in an exclusive interview. In five years, the portfolio of PPP projects of the credit institution has more than tripled. Tourist infrastructure is becoming another promising area. However, such projects pay off for ten years or longer, so investors need clear and stable long-term support measures. Another barrier to the development of tourism is the shortage of personnel, which already reaches 20-40% in the regions. How the Far East is changing and whether it will be possible to bring the number of tourist trips in Russia to the goal set by the president of 140 million per year — in an interview with Izvestia.

"After the completion of the massive preferential mortgage, developers have reduced the withdrawal of new projects"

— BEAC finances projects in various industries. In which sectors are businesses willing to invest their own funds without significant government support, and where are new projects difficult to launch without preferential financing and government participation?

— The boundary is not between industries, but rather between economically sustainable and less sustainable projects. All determine profitability, payback period and cost of capital.

In general, chemistry, petrochemistry, gold mining, and partly non-ferrous metals are now feeling stable. There is still a demand for cloud solutions, artificial intelligence, and data centers in IT and telecom. The pharmaceutical industry is developing well, including through import substitution.

But even in these sectors, large investment projects may need support measures. The most sensitive to the cost of borrowed money are capital—intensive projects with a long payback period and low margins. In such cases, government support improves the economics of the project and sometimes actually makes it possible.

A good example is real estate. Such projects require large investments, so it is almost impossible to develop them without debt financing. Developers usually use bridge loans - short interim loans for the purchase of land and obtaining permits, and then project financing, that is, money for the future revenue of the project itself.

BEAC actively finances housing construction, and the demand for such tools is an important indicator of the business activity of developers for us. The construction cycle lasts three years or more, so developers focus on projects with a high degree of certainty and adjust new launches to the expected demand.

After the completion of the massive preferential mortgage, developers have reduced the withdrawal of new projects. In 2025, 12% fewer project declarations were published — documents that show which projects the developer plans to build and raise money for them. In the first half of 2026, the market began to recover smoothly: the number of declarations increased by 11% compared to the same period last year.

An even more illustrative example is the hotel industry. Due to the long payback period, developers are not ready to lend on market terms, so preferential programs are becoming an important factor in the development of tourism.

As of August 1, 2026, as part of the federal tourism support program, the Savings Bank has opened 106 credit lines totaling 280.5 billion rubles. Separately, 8 more projects worth 38 billion rubles are being implemented within the framework of the federal project "Five Seas and Lake Baikal".

— Will the recovery trend in the hotel segment continue?

— It will depend on government support. If it is allocated at a similar rate, then the recovery will continue. We have a good set of promising projects that the bank is ready to consider and support.

"Since 2023, the loan portfolio of businesses in Sberbank has grown by 73%"

— How much has the volume of business lending in Sberbank increased in recent years? How has the financing of public-private partnership projects changed during this time, and which areas are currently growing fastest?

— The volume of lending is increasing from year to year: since 2023, the increase has been 73%. In 2026, the pace is restrained: the corporate loan portfolio grew by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter or by 3.7% since the beginning of the year and amounted to 32.3 trillion rubles.

A public-private partnership can be singled out separately. This is a mechanism by which the government and business create an infrastructure project together: for example, they build a school, a road, a municipal facility or a waste recycling facility. A private investor invests money and develops the project, while the government provides long-term conditions for its operation.

Over the past five years, this market has doubled, and Sberbank's own portfolio of such projects has more than tripled.

The number of regional PPP projects in the Sber loan portfolio has grown from 150 to more than 450 in five years. The volume of credit limits has increased from 50 billion to more than 300 billion rubles. The main driver has become government programs that cover various areas of infrastructure, from social facilities to municipal solid waste recycling.

— Sber participates in the construction of schools. How many have already been opened and how many are still under construction? Why have such projects become more expensive and more difficult to launch?

— We support 95% of the state's school development program. To date, 68 schools have already started work — about 70 thousand children study in already open buildings. Another 28 schools are currently under construction. They are scheduled to open this year and next year. In total, new schools will appear in 38 regions under the program.

The main challenge in the construction of schools was the increase in prices for metal and other building materials, as well as the increase in key costs. When the program was launched in 2019-2020, one rate was included in the calculations for projects, but in fact it turned out to be significantly higher. Because of this, it was necessary to revise the conditions and increase the related budget obligations of the regions.

— Are there any problems with personnel?

— These problems can be solved. The personnel issue is on the side of the regional and municipal authorities. Most often, teachers and teaching staff move from old schools to new ones, and young people are growing up.

"Tourism projects pay off for ten years and longer"

— If we look five years ahead, what could be the next big area for PPP in Russia? What else besides schools and communal infrastructure can move the market?

— Industry and space are among such areas. It was under them that the legislation on PPP was changed two years ago. Right now, BEAC is launching its first public-private partnership projects in space and industry.

Another promising vector is the tourist infrastructure: embankments, event venues, cruise terminals, and cable cars. That is, everything that turns the territory not just into a place on the map, but into a full-fledged tourist product.

This market already has signs of a future driver: people are willing to pay for trips, demand is confirmed by payments, preferential mechanisms are working, and tourism development remains a state priority.

This is especially evident in the Far East, where tourism has been receiving federal support for many years. But the market still lacks more accurate calculations. As soon as the regions have clear goals for tourist flow and income, tourism projects will become as predictable as a school or a boiler room.

PPP always goes where demand can be predicted fairly accurately. In tourism, this is now starting to happen before our eyes.

— And what kind of demand do you predict?

— In the Far East, we are already seeing outstripping demand from Russian tourists. In addition, measures to simplify the visa regime with neighboring countries, primarily China, may attract an additional flow of visitors to those tourist sites that are currently under construction.

However, predictability is important here. Tourism projects have been paying off for ten years or longer, so investors need to understand that demand and the rules of the game won't change in a year or two.

"The shortage of specialists in tourism by region is already estimated at 20-40%"

— The WEF will be held soon, where there is traditionally a lot of talk about the development of the Far East. How much is tourism interesting to banks today as a financing destination? Which regions and projects of the Far East are the most promising?

— Our approach here is to finance not just a separate hotel construction, but a comprehensive development of the tourist infrastructure. We are talking about projects where, along with the number of rooms, recreation areas, points of attraction, services for tourists, event venues or ski infrastructure appear.

We see confirmed demand and high-quality concepts where investors are willing to invest their own money. Where investors are willing to share the risk, the bank is ready to engage in long-term projects.

We also separately consider analytics on tourist flows as an important tool for the development of the industry, and share it with regions and investors.

In the Far East, the Kamchatka Territory can be singled out as a leader in the development of tourist infrastructure. In Kamchatka, residents of the Kamchatka Advanced Development Area (TOP) and the Freeport are currently implementing 41 large tourism projects with private investments of over 23 billion rubles. TOP is a special zone where businesses are given benefits and simplified conditions so that they can launch projects faster and invest money in the region.

Among such projects are the tourist clusters Zelenovskiye Ozerki and Paratunka. Primorsky Krai, Sakhalin and Kamchatka are preparing for the launch of the first regular Pacific cruise "Astoria Nova" lasting 10 days. It should link three key Far Eastern regions.

In the Magadan region, the Fish Village project can be identified near Lake Shchuchye, next to the Talaya sanatorium. There you can combine a vacation at the thermal springs with fishing.

A separate challenge is the frames. About 1.8 million people are currently employed in tourism. By 2030, the industry will need over 300,000 more people. And now the shortage of specialists in tourism by region is already estimated at 20-40%. For the Far East, this factor is especially important against the background of the commissioning of large resort projects in Kamchatka and Sakhalin in 2027-2028.

"Work on a comfortable infrastructure for foreign tourists has already begun"

— Can the Far East become the main Russian destination for tourists from China and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region?

— Yes, there are already prerequisites for this. Geography itself makes the Far East a natural entry point to Russia for China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Vladivostok, Primorye, Amur Region, Kamchatka and Sakhalin should become part of a unified network of entry routes.

But tourists need not just beautiful nature, but a comfortable trip. They must quickly cross the border, get to their location, move between regions, pay in the usual way, and understand navigation.

Therefore, four things are important: the capacity of border crossings, convenient connections between planes, railways and sea transport, high—quality hotels and an understandable environment for tourists - payments, navigation, digital services and language support. Here, the Far East has the opportunity to turn its geographical advantage into a sustainable competitive advantage.

The extension of the visa-free regime for Chinese citizens until the end of 2027 creates an additional opportunity for growth. China already ranks first in terms of the number of foreign citizens who visit Russia.

Work on a comfortable infrastructure for foreign tourists has already begun. There are offices of Sberbank with China Friendly certification in Blagoveshchensk. Visitors can comfortably receive the necessary banking services in a familiar language and with clear navigation.

— And what is most hindering the growth of tourism in the Far East today?

— I would not say that something is directly in the way. Enough support measures have already been taken, but a long-term policy is important for investors. For example, the visa-free regime with China is still valid until the end of 2027. It would be useful if such conditions continued to apply.

It is always possible to expand measures, but the current support is already stimulating the market. At the same time, it is important to promote the Far East not only for foreign visitors, but also for Russian tourists, including against the background of the WEF.

"Russians have made 1.8 million trips to the regions of the Far East and spent 30.5 billion there."

— Can investments in tourism significantly accelerate the growth of the region's economy? How does this affect business and taxes?

— Yes, this effect is already visible. In Primorye, tourist expenses have increased significantly, the tourist flow continues to increase, and the average guest check remains one of the highest in the country.

In the first half of 2026, Russians made 1.8 million trips to the regions of the Far East and spent 30.5 billion rubles there.

According to a study by Sberbank Analytics conducted for the Eastern Economic Forum, 38% of all trips were to the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories. These figures are based not on one object, but on the development of the entire tourist environment: good hotels, events, the urban environment of Vladivostok, gastronomy, transport and new points of attraction.

At the same time, tourist spending supports local businesses, creates jobs and increases tax revenues.

The example of Primorye is also important for proper consistency. First, the quality of the offer and the value of the trip for the tourist grow, then the average receipt, and then the scale of the flow. A high-quality tourism product can affect the economy of an entire region.

"The investor does not finance the intention, but the future cash flow"

— The President has set a goal to increase the number of tourist trips in Russia to 140 million per year by 2030. Is the current pace of construction of hotels and other tourist infrastructure sufficient to achieve this goal?

— Each new high-quality accommodation facility increases the territory's ability to receive tourists. 114 projects under construction with the support of the Savings Bank under the preferential program of the national project "Tourism and Hospitality" will create 22 thousand hotel rooms. Thus, the infrastructure will be created for about 2 million additional trips per year.

If you look at the entire preferential program, it can provide about 6.41 million trips per year — almost 13% of the required increase, or about one in eight new trips.

But the arithmetic of numbers is not the main thing. The goal of 140 million trips will be achieved if it is broken down by region: each territory should have clear indicators of tourist flow, length of stay and expenses of tourists. These goals should be regularly checked against the actual result.

As a banker, an investor does not finance the intention, but the future cash flow. Where the tourist goal is expressed in numbers and confirmed by data, private capital arrives faster, and the risks of the project become clearer.

Master plans of Far Eastern cities can be an example of this approach. At the same time, it is important that the industry's income grows faster than the tourist flow itself. First, you need to improve the quality of the trip, the average check, and the length of stay. Then satisfied tourists tell their friends about their impressions and share their emotions on social networks. And only then the flow is scaled.

— So the goal of 140 million trips per year is achievable?

— We are moving towards it. There is every potential for this goal to be achieved.