Industry Outlook
Real Estate
Building momentum
in Eastern Europe
Innovative real estate development projects are helping
to revitalise cities and spur economic growth, writes
Nebojsa Karic, President of Dana Holdings
Every city has a story to tell. Urban planning
projects have the power to radically shape
cities, driving them forward economically
and socially while creating a better quality of
life for the citizens who reside there. Perhaps
no company understands the transformative
potential of large-scale real estate projects
better than Dana Holdings, which has been
pioneering the development and construction
of ambitious ventures in Eastern Europe, Rus-
sia and other Commonwealth of Independent
States countries for more than 40 years.
In the early 1980s, Dana Holdings was
among the very first foreign companies to
identify these countries as areas of potential
economic growth, even as it grappled with its
own country’s political instability. By focusing
on these emerging markets in the years since,
the company has found great success with its
innovative ‘city within a city’ concept, which
combines residential, business, entertainment,
cultural and educational facilities, enabling
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residents to tend to all of their needs in a single
convenient location. These comprehensive
construction projects have also helped to estab-
lish the cities in these markets as strategic
financial centres, with state-of-the art business
infrastructure attracting foreign investors,
entrepreneurs and international businesses.
Minsk World
The practical impact of such projects is per-
haps best seen in Russia, where Dana Holdings
has completed many successful ventures and
continues to maintain a presence to this day.
Many of its finished projects have served a
significant social and economic purpose in
the country, such as the main administrative
office of Russia’s central bank, which sits in the
heart of Moscow, directly opposite the Kremlin.
In Russia’s easternmost town, Anadyr, the
Dana Holdings team worked diligently in minus
50 degree temperatures to construct crucial
infrastructure projects including an airport,
hotel and administrative facilities, as well as
erecting the Institute of Natural Sciences at
the North-Eastern Federal University in East-
ern Siberia. Today, the company is looking to
replicate this success in strategic locations
across Central and Eastern Europe, and is cur-
rently in the process of building multifunctional
complexes in the rapidly expanding capital
cities of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Serbia.
The Belarusian capital of Minsk is home to
one of Dana Holding’s most ambitious projects
to date. Comprising 24 residential quarters,
open boulevards, a city park, playgrounds,
cycling tracks and even a new metro line,
the three million square metre Minsk World
is its own contained community within the
city, and is a place where residents and guests
can work, shop, learn and thrive. The planned
international financial centre is set to become
the cornerstone of the Minsk World complex,
acting as an integral part of the national eco-
nomic landscape and playing a crucial role
in attracting foreign investment to Belarus.
What’s more, it will connect the financial
giants of the East (Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sin-
gapore, among others) with major centres in
the West, such as London, New York and Paris.
Lying at the heart of Eastern Europe,
Belarus is favourably positioned to form a
bridge between these dynamic economies.
Furthermore, the cutting-edge international
financial centre could well act as a catalyst
for economic development throughout
Size of Dana
Holdings’
development
projects (sq m)
3m
Minsk World
2m
Tesla City
1.5m
Tesla Park
1m
Mayak Minska
Far left A rendering of Tesla Park
Left A rendering of Tesla City
Right A rendering of Minsk World
the region. Along with the country’s con-
venient location, Belarus benefits from a
strong and stable political system, a high
level of national security and a reliable
network of human resources, which will
further appeal to international investors.
With this in mind, Dana Holdings has also
developed the one million square metre
Mayak Minska complex in the region.
Crucially, though, Minsk World is not
just a complex of skyscrapers: it is one of
deep infrastructure, innovative design and
social cohesion. With a range of forward-
thinking business and finance education
centres scheduled for construction, Minsk
World is also anticipated to become a major
educational hub for training personnel in
the banking and finance industries. What’s
more, although Minsk World is set to become
a part of the Belarusian economic space, it will
benefit from a special system of incentives
designed to raise capital and provide finan-
cial services. These incentives will undoubt-
edly help to further Dana Holdings’ vision for
Minsk World, driving economic growth and
bringing prosperity to all.
Tesla City
Moving south-west to the Balkan nation of
Serbia, the vibrant city of Belgrade is home
to another ambitious Dana Holdings pro-
ject: Tesla City. Named after the celebrated
Serbian-American inventor and engineer
Nikola Tesla, this two million square metre
development hopes to modernise Belgrade’s
city centre, while perfectly complementing
the capital’s beloved architecture. The project
seeks to seamlessly blend the future and the
past together, with a newly created boulevard
connecting Tesla City with the historic city
centre. Boasting residential areas surrounded
by greenery, shops, restaurants, swimming
pools, an aquarium, an ice rink and its own
metro station, Tesla City is expected to com-
pletely revitalise the area, bringing with it a
flurry of new economic activity.
At the very heart of this development will
be a large, round plaza that will act as a meet-
ing point and a social centre. This picturesque
plaza will also house the Belgrade Interna-
tional Financial Centre, which will serve as
a crucial financial hub not only for Serbia, but
also for the wider region. Much like Belarus,
Serbia is advantageously positioned within
Europe, with its prime location earning it the
titles of ‘the gateway to the Balkans’ and ‘the
door to Central Europe’. The Belgrade Inter-
national Financial Centre will benefit from
this convenient positioning, strengthening
the city’s role as a major European financial
hub of the future. Furthermore, with an array
of businesses, shops and entertainment facili-
ties surrounding the centre, the area will be
transformed into a real hive of activity.
Tesla Park
Set in the heart of the Eurasian Steppe, the
expansive nation of Kazakhstan has one of the
fastest-growing capital cities in the world. The
newly renamed city of Nur-Sultan (previously
Astana) became the capital of Kazakhstan
Industry Outlook
Real Estate
The cutting-edge international
financial centre at Minsk World
could well act as a catalyst
for economic development
throughout the region
in 1997 and has undergone a period of rapid
development and modernisation in the two
decades since. Futuristic buildings and tow-
ering skyscrapers now dominate the skyline,
while the population has more than doubled
since 2002. With such an impressive rate of
growth and a forward-thinking vision, Nur-
Sultan has proven itself to be the ideal location
for Dana Holdings’ latest development project:
the innovative Tesla Park.
Set in one of the most dynamic areas of
the city, Tesla Park will cover a total area of
1.5 million square metres and will feature all
the crucial elements of a modern, liveable city,
including comfortable residential areas, shops,
schools and plenty of green spaces.
As the project continues to advance stead-
ily, Dana Holdings’ vision for Tesla Park is
beginning to take shape, creating a vibrant
hub within the rapidly expanding city of
Nur-Sultan. The city’s significance within the
region is only set to grow in the years to come,
as it continues on its modernisation drive and
capitalises further on its strategic location at
the centre of the Silk Road. With Dana Hold-
ings helping to drive innovative development
in the area, the future certainly looks bright
for Kazakhstan’s thriving capital. n
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