The meeting of the Board of Directors of Open Joint-Stock Company North Caucasus Resorts of North Caucasus (NCR OJSC), held on December 17, approved the Development Strategy of the Company up to 2025.

In addition, the Board of Directors has appointed Oleg Gorchev to the position of NCR OJSC Acting Director General; Mr. Gorchev have previously occupied the post of NCR OJSC Deputy Director General for Economy and Finance.

Sergey Vereshchagin, appointed to the position of NCR OJSC Director General in May 2013, has earlier announced his retirement from the company due to transfer to another work in a commercial company located in Moscow.

Maksim Bystrov, Chariman of the Board of Directors of NCR OJSC, thanked Sergey Vereshchagin for the work done, having highly appreciate the created high-quality management structure of the project of creation of the tourism cluster in the North Caucasus Federal District, the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygea. He also expressed confidence that the development and adoption of the Long-term Development Strategy will accelerate the implementation of tourism projects in the North Caucasus.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of NCR OJSC noted that, within the preparation of the strategy document, the Company managed to resolve many issues associated with the creation of special economic zones and conceptual plans of development of the resorts included in the tourism cluster. The pilot project, the resort of Arkhyz in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, has started high effective operation. Based on the results of the 2013-2014 winter season and the summer of 2014, the resort was visited by more than 100,000 people. The resorts plans to accept another 100,000 guests in the 2014-2015 winter season.

As Mr. Bystrov noted, one of the significant results of 2014 was the fact the snow-making system was created on the slopes of Arkhyz, which will significantly extend the period of skiing at the resort.

The Strategy identifies the main priorities of development of NCR OJSC as the management company of the tourism cluster. It provides for several scenarios for development of the tourism cluster, based on analysis of key opportunities and risks.

Maksim Bystrov, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of NCR OJSC, noted the importance of the inclusion in the document such an indicator as “the benchmark resort,” with the help of which the Company will be able to create the core of resorts - the growth points that will attract the main flow of private investments into the project.

The benchmark mountain resort assumes the availability of a minimal ski infrastructure (ski slopes, lifts, snow-making systems, lighting systems on slopes) and commercial infrastructure (collective accommodation, catering points etc.) sufficient for ensuring an adequate tourist flow, investment attractiveness, operating profitability and the achievement of adequate socio-economic effect.

The Company identified the following indicators of a benchmark resort: 4 ski lifts with a total length from 8 to 15 km, more than 40 km of slopes, more than 2000 beds in collective accommodation facilities.

The optimal time to create a benchmark resort is 10 years and it is divided into 2 stages: 5 years of construction and 5 years of progressive development (with ongoing construction) on the terms of public-private partnership.

On the basis of international experience, the Strategy identifies the stages of development of all-season resorts, which is required to ensure the compliance to legislative procedures preceeding the commencement of the construction works and defining the process of creating, commissioning and achieving full projected capacity of the resort: preparation (5-6 years), investment (5-7 years) and operation (up to 10 years).

The Development Strategy provides for two stages in the implementation of the project by NCR OJSC. The first stage includes creation of benchmark resorts within the development program of the most promising sites, including Arkhyz ATRC and Elbrus-Bezenghi ATRC in the Elbrus area. The second stage includes the operation of the resorts established during stage 1, with the subsequent construction of other resorts within the tourism cluster.