December 8, 2014. Proxima Capital and Yermak Developers set up Rosagromarket, a holding that now plans to put up a wholesale distribution center in Yekaterinburg, Kommersant reports.

Two such centers operate in Moscow Region at the moment, and a suitable location near Moscow is being searched for yet another one. Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, and Vladivostok are expected to get a center each, with their area ranging from 50,000 sq m to 300,000 sq m. The first seven centers are estimated to require $500m to $700m worth of investments.

The distribution centers are supposed to act as intermediaries between agricultural businesses and retail operators. Renting some space at the center will cost between $80 and $200 per square meter a year.

The project will get adjusted along with the implementation of the Russian Agriculture Ministry’s emerging wholesale distribution center development program for 2015-2020. The ministry thinks the centers should be united into a single food distribution network later on. The authorities promise to refund some of the construction expenses as well as interest rates on investment loans and possibly agricultural businesses’ product improvement expenses.