By Musa Musayev, Makhachkala. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
There have been long talks about the rivalry between Forbes billionaires Suleyman Kerimov and Ziyavudin Magomed in Dagestan. Experts have different predictions for the political and socio-economic impact of their struggle in Dagestan and the chances for destabilization in the region.
Hidden rocks in the maritime port
Kerimov took control over the Makhachkala Trade Port in 2010. A close friend of his, Ahmed Gajiyev, became the head of the enterprise. However, the scandalous shift of authority at the port gave Kerimov a serious opponent, Absupyan Kharkharov, the ex-head of the port who knows the political mechanism from the inside. Kharkharov gained a reputation of an efficient and successful manager while working at the port. The capacity of the dry-cargo and oil harbor kept increasing. He is considered the creator of the asset, because the port used to be a small enterprise with old funds before Kharkharov’s arrival. It could not be of any interest to oligarchs in the late 1990s.
When the modern grain terminal was built, the port started transshipment of wheat to Iran and Azerbaijan. Later, grain-makers decided to ship their products bypassing the Makhachkala Port. In order to keep the grain terminal busy, Kharkharov started developing own base of materials, leasing wheat fields in the Stavropol Territory.
Following his resignation, the port no longer grows at the same rate. Although there are preconditions for the growth. The volumes of oil transshipment should increase after LUKOIL starts extracting hydrocarbons in the Caspian Shelf.
Unclear prospects of airport development
Prospects for privatization of the Makhachkala Airport became cloudy last fall. Oleg Lipatov, ex-Director General of Nafta-Moskvy, appointed as Vice Prime Minister of Dagestan was supposed to find out what was going on behind the clouds. But he arrived in Dagestan too late, time was lost. The government changed and Lipatov left the post.
Suleyman Kerimov is engaged in the project on construction of a large glass factory. Production of energy-saving plate glass using advanced technologies will cover demands for the product in Russia’s South and other neighbour states. Kerimov has not granted personal funds for it. He became a guarantor and voucher for funds from Vnesheconombank, an institution he has long been friends with. The investment project is worth about 10.5 billion rubles. 70% of them have been granted as Vnesheconombank loans.
It is worth noting that Kerimov registered for tax accounting in his home city of Derbent. Kerimov was paying about 2 billion rubles to the Dagestani budget on condition that the funds would be spent on construction of social infrastructure. S it turned out, though the local budget was accumulating, the city was not building social facilities. Then, Kerimov cancelled the registry and old Derbent was left with nothing.
Where does Magomedov invest
The Magomedov brothers did not become an exception in the list of potential investors in Dagestani economy in the context of the investment hunger. Structures of Ziyavudin Magomedov at the first Dagestani Economic Forum presented the AgroDagItalia project, realization of which would allow formation of a universal agricultural holding. Investments totaled 14 billion rubles. 5,000 jobs will open at the first stage of realization and 16,000 after completion. This fall, garlic was planted on 100 hectares of land in the Kizilyurtovsky District this fall. Agricultural machines of JJ Broch (Spain) were purchased to plant the garlic.
Moreover, Mosotryad-99, a company of the Summa Group of Ziyavudin Magomedov, was the general contractor for concluding construction of the Gimrinsky Tunnel. The Summa-Telecom Internet provider is building and connecting Makhachkala micro districts to broadband Internet.
Asphalted roads to stop migration
Magomedov started expanding the investment activities in the republic. He opened a business incubator from the Silicon Valley at the DSTU in Makhachkala in September. The Summa Group opened a modern asphalt factory with an output of 160 tons an hour near Makhachkala in October. Magomedov keeps his structural subdivisions busy with orders of road reconstruction. Roads in Dagestan are the points of economic growth and improvement of living standards. Residential areas here are not spread through hundreds of kilometers like in Russia. This is why lack of roads drags development and triggers mass migration, in other words, exodus of the population from highland districts.
In brief, slowly and cautiously, rich compatriots invest in the economy of Dagestan. It is important for everyone of them to find their own niche and not get in the way of others’ investments in the development of the republic.
