KYIV. Nov 22 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The first results of operation of the innovation park on the territory of Kyiv Motorcycle Plant, the anchor projects of which are UNIT Factory and Technology Companies’ Development Center (TCDC), would allow making a decision on the viability of expanding this project to other cities in the country, in particular, Lviv and Kharkiv, the businessman, famous developer and founder of K.Fund Vasyl Khmelnytsky has said.
“I would open the first part [of the project in Kyiv]. I will see how the university works and how the project as a cluster works. Then I would assess the possibility of expanding the project to Lviv and Kharkiv. I have sites there,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Khmelnytsky said that 25 ha were allocated in Kyiv for the future innovation park. The presentation of the park and the managing company is scheduled for May 2017. Total investment in its development is estimated at $100-400 million.
Commenting on the anchor projects, the founder of the park said that UNIT Factory created in partnership with French coding school 42 is free and open to all with the condition of working in Ukraine for three years after graduation. He said it should become a powerful source of IT specialists for companies that would be residents of the innovation park. He said that the number of students in UNIT Factory would be increased from current 300 to 3,000.
“In three years we would create the environment where it would be hard for a person to leave our park. There will be everything there: institutes, startups, support center, many various free services, cafes, restaurants, accommodations and medical services. We would create a real cluster,” he said.
He said that the second anchor project of the innovation park is TCDC with gross area of 3,500 square meters. It will support small and medium-sized high-tech projects offering offices at the rent rates starting from $5 per square meter to compensation of up to 70% of the cost of educational programs. Kyiv Mohyla Business School will be the educational partner of the center. Yevhen Sarantsov’s BlackBox Capital would be responsible for management in the technology sphere. In addition, a managing company, an advisory board, Juscutum law firm, BIONIC IT-University, two high-tech laboratories VR Lab (Crytek) and Smart City Lab would support the center. Construction works would be finished in December 2016. Total investment in TCDC is assessed at UAH 100 million.
“We propose to companies to move to us with a discount. Thirty companies are ready to do this. In addition, we have arranged with Fablab Fabricator that they would be residents of the park. Then we will try to attract other companies, look for an investor, then find contractors to grow and expand. The main thing they would stay with us,” Khmelnytsky said.
He said that he wants to attract not only IT companies, but also representative of a wider cluster of new technologies.
The businessman said that he does not have plans to create a venture fund or enter IT business himself.
“I do not create my own IT companies. We would have 30 companies. Let them agree with each other, hire someone. I am ready to create the environment. The better environment is the higher rent rates will be. I will earn on this. I am afraid that if I create an IT company, I would become a rival [in the eyes of other companies],” he said.
Khmelnytsky said that if promising startups and companies start working in the park venture funds would show their interest to them.
Commenting on his previous project – Bionic Hill innovation park, when it was planned to open a large research and development (R&D) town with 35,000 jobs in the suburbs of Kyiv on 147 ha of the former military unit, he said that the project has been frozen until favorable conditions on the market appear.
“There was no chance for Bionic today, as many foreign companies left the country for some reasons. I wanted to create the environment mainly for our specialists who would work in western R&D centers. Today they went away and now it is hard to do from the economic point of view,” the businessman said.
He said that he would realize the project in the future.
“I am sure that it would build it. When I speak about UNIT, this is Bionic, but of the smaller scale and in the city,” he said.
Khmelnytsky is a majority shareholder in UDP, which is engaged in implementing large-scale infrastructure projects. Kyiv International Airport, Ocean Plaza shopping mall, Novopecherski Lypki residential complex, Boulevard of Fountains, RiverStone and Parkove Misto are among them.
K.Fund was founded in 2015 to support projects related to education and the economy.
