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Investment Portal of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation
A resident of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation opened a new hotel in Murmansk
08.11.2024 /// Samitel Hotel opened in Murmansk on Zelenaya Street. It was officially commissioned in September 2024 and began receiving guests on 1 November. Cosy rooms in the 'standard' and 'standard plus' categories can be booked on the mini-hotel's website, as well as on the websites of travel aggregators with whom the company Phoenix-Center, which built and manages the hotel, has already signed agreements.
The name of the hotel 'Samitel' is a derivative of the words 'Sami' (the self-name of the Sami people—the indigenous people of the Kola Peninsula) and 'hotel.'
Now in the two-storey mini-hotel with a total area of 620 sq m 18 rooms are open, equipped with everything necessary for a comfortable stay. Guests of Samitel Hotel can order breakfast, lunch and dinner, but the hotel also has a kitchen where guests can quickly prepare something on their own. A special feature of the hotel is its own heating unit. It is possible that the hotel will have its own water supply system, so the Samitel Hotel will become fully autonomous in terms of utilities.
Phoenix-Center, a resident of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF), invested RUB 38.6 mn in the construction of the Samitel Hotel under an agreement with the Far East Development Corporation (FEDC).
Andrey Seryakov, Director of the Phoenix-Center, is a well-known person in Murmansk. In March 2025, Andrey Anatolievich will be 70 years old. He began his professional career at the Association of Ship Repair Enterprises 'Murmansk Shipyard,' worked at the central design and technological bureau of JSC Sevryba, then at the Sevrybkholodflot management, and later served as the vice-mayor of Murmansk. Probably everyone in the region knows about the Euroros Trading House, where Andrey Anatolievich was Deputy General Director: the company has created a network of more than 100 stores in the region.
But Andrey Seryakov, an experienced entrepreneur and manager, has never been involved in the hotel business before.
'It's a whole new experience for me. But I'm sure there will be a demand for Samitel's services. Every year, the tourist flow to the Murmansk Region increases on average by 200 thousand people, plus many people go to the Polar Region to work, so Murmansk definitely needs a new hotel,' Andrey Seryakov is sure.
»According to the results of 2023, the tourist flow to the Murmansk Region amounted to 670 thousand people. That's a 20% increase over 2022 and exactly double the 2016 increase. In the past five years, around 3 million tourists have visited the region.
Phoenix-Center was incorporated and became an AZRF resident in 2022 specifically for new projects. There will be three in total.
The project with the Samitel mini-hotel will be continued: the resident company plans to build another hotel on the same land plot. The already operating mini-hotel will also increase by several rooms.
The second project is the construction of an apartment complex on General Zhurba Street in Murmansk, on a 4,438 sq m plot.
'This will not be a tourist facility,' Andrey Seryakov clarifies. 'The first floor of the two-storey building will be occupied by company offices, and the second floor will be used as office accommodation for their employees and management. The area of the complex is 500 sq m. The building permit has already been obtained, so I think the facility will be built next year.'
»The third project that the company intends to implement in Murmansk is the construction of a shopping and entertainment centre on Chumbarov-Luchinsky Street.
'Currently, its design is coming to an end, and I hope that by March 2025, we will, as they say, "break ground"—that is, begin construction,' says Andrey Seryakov.
»Among the support measures provided to the residents of the AZRF, the Director of Phoenix-Center emphasises the allocation of land plots for construction without tenders. This allowed the company to start work quickly and efficiently, without wasting time and energy on bureaucratic procedures. Now that the first of the projects is up and running, tax incentives will also be a tangible support for Phoenix-Center.
Alexander Shutov, Director of FEDC Murmansk: 'Murmansk Region is one of the most touristy regions of the country, especially known for skiing vacations. The AZRF regime, through tax incentives and administrative preferences, helps entrepreneurs develop this important sector of the economy quickly and efficiently. Taking into account the high demand from vacationers, I am sure that the new accommodation facility will definitely be in demand, because tourists are interested in our city: many start their acquaintance with the Arctic from it.'
»It should be noted that the Murmansk Region has traditionally been one of the leaders in terms of the number of residents of preferential regimes for business.
Under agreements with the FEDC, 852 residents are implementing projects in the AZRF regime, and businesses are investing RUB 902 bn. New companies create 27,400 new jobs. The Murmansk Region offers residents a 75% subsidisation of insurance premiums for the first 10 years. AZRF residents in the region can count on a reduced income tax rate of 5% in the first five years (from the sixth to the tenth years—10%), zero rate on property tax in the first five years (from the sixth to the tenth years the rate is 1.1%), zero rate on land tax for the first three years.