Japanese company eyes resort on Russky Island

Tuesday 2nd of June 2015

One of Japan's largest residential development companies, Iida Group Holdings, is prepared to invest between $380 million and $450 million in a new resort on Russky Island, near the far eastern city of Vladivostok, according to Russian news.

Quoting Sergei Kachayev, a deputy minister for the development of the Far East, the Kommersant newspaper reported that the Japanese firm is interested in building a resort that would include a residential complex and resort with a golf course for summer visitors and a mountain skiing area for the winter season.

An unidentified source said the firm is prepared to invest between $380 million and $450 million in the new resort, with plans to recoup their capital in five to seven years.

Though the newspaper was unable to receive confirmation from Iida on its plans, in May the Japanese company announced that it was opening an office in Russia.

A spokesperson for the office of the Primorye region governor confirmed that negotiations with Iida Group Holdings were ongoing.

Russky Island has served as a military base since the tsarist era though became more accessible following the construction of a bridge connecting it to the mainland for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012.

Russia’s Primorye region has recently become a focal point for Asian investment, with the regional government announcing that it had signed investment deals worth $1.4 billion with a number of Asian investors to build a gambling zone near Vladivostok.