General Motors will open a new national spare parts distribution facility in Moscow's southern outskirts in 2015 as it looks to shore up its position in the former Soviet Union.
The CIS division of the U.S. carmaker will consolidate its various Moscow spare parts centers at a new 40,000-square-meter facility at South Gate Industrial Park, the park's owner, Radius Group, said Monday.
Radius Group will construct the facility for a grand opening in February 2015.
"Demonstrating its commitment to Russian market growth and service levels, General Motor's signed an unusually long 14-year lease," Radius Group said in a statement.
General Motors has also acquired an option to expand the facility by an additional 25 percent, or 10,000 square meters, it said.
Radius Group did not elaborate on the terms of the lease but said it had worked for several years to achieve it.
"For our team it's a crowning achievement," said Christopher Van Riet, Radius Group's managing director and a native of the U.S. state of Texas.
(Read a profile of Christopher Van Riet here.)
General Motors did not have any immediate comment on the new spare parts distribution facility.
The 144-hectare South Gate Industrial Park, located near Domodedovo Airport, is already a Russian base of operations for a number of foreign companies, including John Deere (U.S.), Decathlon (France), Hartmann (Germany) and Volvo Trucks (Sweden).
Moscow-based Radius Group, established in 2006, is a provider of warehouse and manufacturing real estate solutions with built-to-suit Class A properties in Moscow, Kiev, and Kazan.
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