OREANDA-NEWS. November 22, 2007. PIK Group (LSE: PIK), one of Russia’s leading residential real estate developers, today announced the acquisition of a large land plot in city of Perm.

The site, which covers 124 hectares, has been acquired for development as an urban area with an estimated 1.1 million square meters of net sellable space. The development will be the first phase on a large site totaling 500 hectares which the local authorities in Perm have planned to sanction for real estate development.

PIK will also provide additional infrastructure, such as schools, kindergarten and roads, in co-operation with the local authorities. The development is estimated to house approximately 40,000 people when completed.

The project will transform the residential property market in Perm, offering a vital new source of housing for the city’s residents as an alternative to the significant proportion of Soviet era buildings in the city which have become obsolete.

Perm is the capital city of the Ural province, also called Perm. Situated 800 miles east of Moscow on the River Kama, it is a major river port and an administrative, industrial, scientific and cultural centre for the region. It is the 6th largest city in Russia and has a population of over 1 million.

PIK has already been operating in the area for over more than one year. This year it has already won a tender for developing 6.4 hectares (equivalent to estimated net sellable area of 109,000 square meters). In total, PIK owns an estimated area for development in the city of around 169,000 square meters.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Kirill Pisarev, CEO of PIK said:

“We are working closely with government authorities in Perm to increase construction volumes in the city in line with the federal “Affordable Housing" programme. This sizable acquisition enables us to build another major urban neighbourhood in Russia.”