Ukraine, Rivne Oblast.
In the northwest of the city of Rivni, in more than two months, a new residential community has been built on the west side of the Ustia River that passes through the city.
This is November 1st.
A move-in ceremony was held today, hosted by the state government and Oldeke Corporation.
A temporary stage was set up in front of the square at the entrance of the community. Guests from all walks of life were sitting under the stage, surrounded by a large group of media reporters.
UFMS President Kerim Derevyanko did not listen carefully to the governor's speech on the stage. He stared at the beautiful red and white seven-story apartment building not far away for a long time. He looked at the person sitting next to him who had obviously lost weight recently. Sergey Komorov, the tired head of Oldek Company, said: "I suddenly discovered that our boss should be an idealist."
Sergey, who had not had much rest for more than two months in a row, had no intention of talking. After hearing what Klim said, he looked at a large new apartment building not far away, with a certain satisfaction in his expression, but He said: "Do you really think so?"
"What else?" Krim gestured towards the apartment building: "Didn't we originally plan to build a tube building? Now, with such a beautiful apartment, I can't help but live in it."
"Actually, I feel the same way as you."
"In this case, is there anything wrong with what I just said? A real capitalist would not be willing to spend money to build such a beautiful apartment."
Sergey shook his head slightly: "But, Krim, have you ever thought that these apartments are not so easy to live in."
"Isn't this a matter of course?" Krim said without any surprise, "It would be unfair if you can live in such a good apartment without paying enough."
Sergey hesitated a little and did not continue to argue with Kerim, otherwise he would be suspected of gossiping about his boss.
Sergey could not be more satisfied with the first batch of 30 apartment buildings in this area named 'Ustia Community'. In order to complete this project, he has worked very hard in the past two months and has lost a lot of weight.
Many times, even Sergey himself felt that these apartments were too luxurious for those factory workers.
As Klim said, in the beginning, with the funds given by Simon, Sergey only wanted to build a number of tube buildings, which were promoted during the Khrushchev period and are everywhere in Kiev and Rivni today. A shabby apartment that is as long and narrow as a train.
It's a pity that my boss doesn't think so at all.
It is said that we want to build a home for community residents, not a cold dormitory.
As a shrewd businessman, Sergey's first reaction was that this would cost a lot of money, and the gain would outweigh the loss.
It's just that this is not something he can decide.
In order to clear out the dangerous shanty town in the west of Rivni City before the cold winter, there was not much time to argue. In the end, the big boss personally finalized the plan to build a unified six-story apartment building, and It must be a one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartment of 50 square meters or 70 square meters, with a complete kitchen and bathroom.
When he first saw the plan given by his boss, Sergey felt a pang of pain and finally argued with reason.
The boss also compromised a little bit.
The six-story apartments were increased to seven stories. As for the eight-story Sergey suggested, it was impossible. Even though he did not know where he heard from his boss that '8' was a very auspicious number, the reply there was no. In the case of elevators, eight floors is too high, and seven floors is already the limit.
All right.
Because the Rivne Oblast is integrated up and down, the preliminary design planning and project approval only took two weeks. The only thing that made Sergey comfortable was that the land given by the state government was almost a free gift. To this end, another regulation was issued According to a temporary bill, any developer willing to build low-cost resettlement housing for residents in Rivne Oblast can receive corresponding discounts.
However, except for his own big boss, others would only throw money into the northwestern state of Ukraine if they were crazy.
Moreover, the state government also has another idea, limiting the time limit of the bill to only three years.
All in all, it was tailor-made for this project, and public land was allocated, with 370 hectares allocated at once. In fact, it was originally 250 hectares. When I submitted the application, I got a short and unclear reply from the boss, 'All of you are 250! ! ! ’, everyone was confused, but obviously the boss was unhappy.
So the top government officials held a meeting overnight and allocated all the land that could be allocated to this project, and the project area was immediately increased to 370 hectares.
If you can’t use it all, build a park first and store it there.
For more than two months, Sergei Komorov put aside most of the other work at Oldek Company and has been personally responsible for this project. He completed the preliminary stage in two weeks and then broke ground. In order to rush the work, his subsidiary Ordek Company Dirk Construction Company summoned more than 3,000 workers at one time, and some of them were engineers who were secretly recruited by Vasily Borisov, the commander-in-chief of the Western Combat Command, who had already assumed his post to earn extra money.
The first batch of 30 apartments broke ground at the same time.
Working day and night.
Sergey practically lived on the construction site for more than two months.
From digging the foundation to capping the apartment building, it took less than 20 days, and the subsequent laying of the water and electricity pipe network also only took two weeks.
The temperature in Ukraine in October was already very low. In order to dry the new houses as quickly as possible to ensure occupancy, the heating systems of the 30 apartments were turned on for seven consecutive days, and finally the move-in ceremony was successfully celebrated on November 1.
Looking back at this moment, Sergey felt that he had created a miracle.
Of course, I still feel a little distressed.
Mainly cost.
Even though Ukraine's political situation stabilized after Kuchma came to power and new currency was successfully issued this year, the economy remains sluggish. The average monthly salary of 30 US dollars published in Ukraine is actually just a joke. Many people still do not even earn 10 US dollars a month. Housing prices in a country or region are basically equivalent to the average monthly salary of residents.
As for this apartment, the average construction cost per square meter is equivalent to US$45. This is under the premise that Sergey not only did not profit from it, but also personally took charge of supervising the construction and controlling the cost to the greatest extent.
It’s hard to make people feel much about single numbers, and the contrast is quite strong.
According to the original tube building construction plan, Sergey was able to ensure that the construction cost per square meter was less than 20 US dollars. Now, because all kinds of building materials have been upgraded to a higher level, and it is not possible to stack the floors high and reduce the budget, even if it is a separate The kitchen and bathroom space also means an increase in costs.
Overall, the average construction cost per square meter has more than doubled compared to initial estimates.
If you only calculate the unit area, it seems to be nothing.
However, the entire resettlement community project plans to build 3.5 million square meters of residential space alone. Therefore, the difference between US$45 and US$20 extends to the entire project, which is equivalent to an additional investment of nearly US$90 million. This does not include the remaining funds of the total investment of US$200 million for the construction of schools, hospitals, shopping malls, parks and other supporting funds.
The 3.5 million square meters of residential area, based on the unit price of US$45, is only equivalent to an investment of US$157 million. The remaining US$43 million will be used for these supporting facilities that are destined to have lower returns.
Looking at these data alone, my boss is indeed an idealist.
However, when you think about it, things are by no means simple.
First of all, not everyone can rent this newly built community. Currently, only employees of companies related to the Westeros System in Rivne Region can apply. Even if the conditions will be relaxed as the project is fully completed, it will definitely There will be screening, which is obviously another form of control over the economy of the Rivne region.
The reason is simple. If they are not recognized by the Westeros system, employees of some companies will not even be qualified to rent a good house.
Over time, the results can be imagined.
Besides, for the residents, it seems that they only need to find a relevant job. However, once the residents leave their jobs or are fired from the company, they must move out within a month. Together with them, even their children can no longer enjoy various community school-related benefits. Matching.
This is also some pretty deep binding.
The construction standards of this apartment are already very high, and the surrounding facilities are even better. It is conceivable that once you move in and get used to it, you won't want to leave again. Just as the big boss envisioned, this place is more like home than home.
As a result, it is inevitable that you cannot help yourself.
As for the various enterprises or factories in the Westeros system, work is by no means easy. At that time, if you want to maintain a decent life, you will have to accept harsh working conditions and completely give up on a life that may be easy but inevitably embarrassing. Work tirelessly like an ant.
Secondly, there are costs.
This is a plan personally given by the team at the big boss, and the relevant data is clear at a glance.
Take a couple who have no children yet as an example. Both of them work in a factory, each earning a monthly salary of US$30, and their total income is US$60.
So, if you rent a 50-square-meter one-bedroom apartment here, after the nominal subsidy, the rent still costs 20 US dollars, which directly accounts for one-third of the couple's income. Plus daily expenses such as property, water, electricity, and gas, even if it is very economical, It also costs at least $10.
The remaining half will not be much left after food, clothing, housing and transportation.
The daily consumption of these basic necessities, food, housing and transportation are basically in shopping malls, supermarkets, hospitals, karaoke bars, cinemas and other places under the control of the Westeros system. It is equivalent to the salary earned from enterprises related to the Westeros system, and returns to In the hands of the Westeros system.
For families with children, if they want to maintain such a decent life, they will inevitably be stretched thin if they do not make careful calculations.
All in all, apart from a relatively comfortable and decent environment, it is difficult for people working and living in this area to have anything left in the end. However, the large number of factories opened here by the Westeros system and related companies can rely on low labor costs. , continuously creating profits for the capital behind the scenes.
It was precisely because of understanding this that Sergey realized that his boss was not naive at all.
However, thinking about it more carefully, Sergey had to admit that this is not the fate of most ordinary people in this world. After all, only a few people can escape this fate, and the detachment of these few people is undoubtedly based on the reincarnation of the majority of people.
Realistic and cruel.
On the stage, Governor Andrei Smirnov finished his speech, and it was Sergey's turn. He quickly put away his thoughts, put on a smile and walked quickly to the stage.
No matter what, I am already a detached person and a chess player, so why do I need to think so much
After taking turns to give speeches and cut the ribbon, surrounded by a large group of reporters, the guests attending the ceremony entered the community to watch the residents' relocation.
The first apartments were built facing the river.
A standard 7-story apartment building with 14 units on a single floor, 10 of which are 70 square meters with two bedrooms and one living room, and 4 units are 50 square meters with one bedroom and one living room. Each building has a total of 98 apartments, with an effective housing area of 6,300 square meters. Based on an average living space of 20 square meters per person, the standard number of residents in each apartment is 315.
30 apartment buildings, just shy of 10,000 people.
However, this is only an ideal situation in the future.
The reason why this community is working so hard is to move the residents of the shanty towns in the west of the city, where 100,000 people have gathered, into safe and warm homes as much as possible before the cold winter arrives, so as to avoid various situations in the severe cold weather.
Therefore, the living capacity of the first batch of apartment buildings will be temporarily expanded by more than four times this time. It is expected that 40,000 people will live in these 30 apartments.
There is nothing we can do about this.
Due to the influx of a large number of people, it is very difficult to find a place to live in the city of Rivni even if the rent has increased two or three times in the past two years. Even the surrounding villages and towns are crowded with immigrants. This is why the shanty town in the west of the city was originally Will appear.
So some plans have to be put on hold.
The capacity of residents here has been temporarily expanded, and some conditions have not been relaxed, but replaced.
In addition to employees in shantytowns who originally worked for companies related to the Westeros system who were directly eligible to move in, employees who originally lived in dormitories in some factories in the Westeros system also moved to brand-new apartments here, and the vacated dormitories , reserved for shantytown residents who are temporarily unemployed or have unstable jobs.
It is expected that another batch of 30 apartments will be ready for occupancy before construction is completely frozen in December.
After that, the residents of the shantytowns will be roughly resettled. Those who have no where to go will be forcibly repatriated to their places of origin. The shantytowns that have been temporarily gathered in the past two years will also be demolished. The Rivni area will no longer be resettled in the future. Such agglomerations that could develop into slums were allowed to occur.
To further achieve this goal, starting next year, Rivne Oblast will also restrict population inflows.
At that time, we will let in as many workers as we need here. Even if certain groups of people are unavoidable, with the successive completion of large-scale resettlement communities and the strict control of the authorities, shanty towns or even slums will never appear again.
On the other hand, once the resettlement community is fully completed, phenomena similar to group renting will no longer be allowed to occur.
An apartment can only accommodate as many people as it has been approved to live in.
After all, the gathering of people will put a serious burden on the fire protection, public security and sanitation of the community. If things go on like this, it will even become another form of slum.
This is the obvious reason.
More importantly, for the benefit of the Westeros system, a group of people must not be allowed to share houses and dilute the cost of living.
Within the Ustia neighborhood.
Governors Andrei Smirnov and Sergey Komorov and others divided into one group to visit around under the attention of the media. As deputy governor Vladimir Korkosko led another group People were walking and chatting on the newly built cement corridor along the river.
This is an investment inspection team from Inditex Group, a Spanish fashion chain.
Vladimir has learned in detail in private that the company's Zara chain stores have spread to more than ten countries around the world. This year's sales will exceed 1 billion US dollars, and they are still expanding rapidly. They are high-quality investors worth attracting.
"Javier, you have also seen that this community only took two months from the start of construction to move-in. This is one of the biggest advantages of your investment in Rivne Oblast, super high efficiency. If Inditex is here If you open a factory in Funi, it can be completed and put into production in three to six months depending on the size. Moreover, we can also be responsible for assisting in recruiting and training workers. There is no such a superior place in Eastern Europe."
The person who led the inspection team was a somewhat balding vice president of Inditex named Javier Cordero, who was about forty years old.
After listening to the explanation of the translator beside him, Havel shook his head and said: "But, Vladimir, we also found that there are actually many problems here, such as raw materials. The light industry foundation in Ukraine is really poor. If it is here, To open a clothing factory, many raw materials need to be imported.”
"We have been improving this. You have to know that there are already many clothing factories in Rivni, and their production has not been affected by this. Moreover, even for imports, relatively speaking, our costs are still very high. have advantage of."
"However, the tax benefits you offer are, to be honest, hard to impress. Even in other Ukrainian states and counties we have visited, the conditions offered are much better than here."
When Vladimir heard Havel talking about this, he knew that the other party was already tempted. He smiled and said patiently: "Havier, the tax benefits we can give are already the highest. Moreover, the tax revenue we get will increase in the next few years." Every year, they invest in infrastructure construction, you must have discovered this. Let’s talk about other states and counties. Frankly speaking, Havel, let alone Russia, even other regions in Ukraine, even Kiev, if you know more about those regions With the business environment, you may not even have the thought of investing.”
Vladimir was not too straightforward, but Havel still understood immediately, but said: "Vladimir, can you guarantee that there are no such problems here in Rivne Oblast?"
"Of course, I can guarantee it," Vladimir said firmly: "Inditex has set up the factory here. It only needs to concentrate on production, and there will be no interference from gangs or unhappiness from some government levels. This is The most basic thing is difficult to achieve in other areas. Otherwise, do you think Mr. Simon Westeros would invest so heavily here?"
Javier Cordero did not take up the topic, but he understood that what the deputy governor said was true.
In Eastern Europe now, due to the chain reaction of economic collapse, all aspects of society have collapsed. This is why even though Eastern Europe has cheap human resources, Western European capital is still very cautious about investing here. Not to mention the thin and dilapidated industrial base here, but on the human side, everyone has no intention of dealing with the endless gangsters blackmailing officials and demanding bribes. In fact, in many countries and regions in Eastern Europe, even the safety of investors cannot be guaranteed.
But this border state and county in northwest Ukraine is an anomaly.
Javier Cordero and his party have been in Rivni for three days, and everything they have seen and heard proves this point.
The entire area is not only economically vibrant but completely different from the dreary lifelessness of many other cities in Eastern Europe. It also lacks the smog of other regions. It is simply a Garden of Eden.
The reason is clear to everyone.
A certain super-rich man not only maintains an army here, but even controls the bureaucracy of the entire state and county. Coupled with economic infiltration, to put it bluntly, Rivne State is now simply a colony of the Westeros system. , and it is a colony with strong control and no second voice at all.
Except for Westeros, no one can make trouble in Rivne Oblast. The super-rich man is trying his best to promote the economic development of this area, so the business environment is naturally very good.
Therefore, Javier Cordero actually finalized a plan with his boss in Spain last night to set up a factory here and even build Inditex's main production base in Europe. The next thing to do is to ask for more preferential policies from the Rivne Oblast authorities as much as possible.