Marinas, Housing, and River Trams: What the Water Infrastructure Will Look Like and What Awaits Kazan
Marinas, Housing, and River Trams: What the Water Infrastructure Will Look Like and What Awaits Kazan
14 May
The construction of mooring facilities is planned near the Kazan Family Centre. This was announced by Ilsiiar Tukhvatullina, Chief Architect of the capital of Tatarstan, at the "Comfort by the Water: Yacht Tourism as a Driver of Territorial Development" session held during the International Property Market (IPM) Exhibition and Conference.
At the session, participants discussed how coastal zones and water infrastructure can become new centres of attraction for tourists, investors, and local communities. The experts agreed that modern marinas and berthing complexes long ago ceased to be merely places for mooring vessels. Today, they are complex urban development hubs capable of shaping a qualitatively new way of life.
Russia possesses a unique aquatic potential – 13 seas and the largest river systems. Nikita Stasishin, Deputy Minister of Construction, Housing, and Utilities of the Russian Federation, proposed looking at marina development through an analogy with golf courses. In both cases, construction and maintenance are very costly, and boat mooring or playing golf alone does not recoup the expenditure.
World experience suggests a solution: building high-quality housing – business class or slightly above – around marinas. People are willing to pay for the opportunity to use the public infrastructure of a marina as an extension of their own residential territory. In this way, housing offsets the maintenance costs, which is especially important during the short summer season.
"A quality collaboration between marina infrastructure and a very carefully calibrated housing format will yield tremendous results," stressed Nikita Stasishin.
In addition, Stasishin proposed that the Kazan authorities launch river trams from the new marina to the city centre – this would multiply the tourist flow and make the water genuinely accessible to residents and visitors alike.
Ilsiiar Tukhvatullina spoke of water as a universal value and reminded the audience that Kazan stands on the largest reservoir in Eurasia, in the "heart of the Volga". In Soviet times, almost every family owned a boat, and there were 28 water infrastructure facilities; in the post-Soviet period, only 10 remained.
However, the situation is changing. Today, more than 30 water facilities are already enshrined in Kazan's General Plan, including 11 city marinas and 5 sports facilities. A special rule has been introduced along the waterfront: developers must not block access to the shore, meaning that at least 500 metres of accessible environment must be maintained in front of it. Moreover, all waterfront facilities are required to have mooring marinas.
The construction of yachting infrastructure is actively developing: a marina is anticipated near the recently opened "Elmai" Park, and another water facility is expected at the future "Yar Park" complex. A children's sailing school will appear slightly further downstream. On the Kremlin Embankment, investors are creating mooring facilities. "This entire system is being stitched together and is beginning to work," Tukhvatullina stated.
And that is not all of it: the immediate plans include a 700-berth marina on the "Lokomotiv" peninsula, an extreme sports centre with an artificial wave, and several children's sailing schools where up to five thousand children will be able to study; mooring facilities will also appear near the Kazan Family Centre. In total, 450 hectares of territory along the water are being developed, and each decision is discussed monthly at a special commission within the City Executive Committee.
The immediate plans include a 700-berth marina on the "Lokomotiv" peninsula, an extreme sports centre with an artificial wave, and several children's sailing schools where up to 5,000 children will be able to study.
"The more love we invest in the water, the stronger our city will be," the architect stressed, underscoring its value.
Special attention at the session was devoted to practical projects. Sergey Krasnoperov, General Director of Tourism.RF Corporation, presented the "Kazan-Marina" project – a future year-round resort in the Laishevsky District of Tatarstan, 60 kilometres from Kazan on the shore of the Kuybyshev Reservoir. The investment volume will amount to approximately 30 billion roubles. The project will feature a full-service marina for 300 yachts, an all-season boathouse for 500 vessels, a 140-metre pier for cruise ships, a five-kilometre embankment, hotels, and sports and entertainment infrastructure.
"Kazan-Marina" is already being called the future capital of yacht tourism on the Volga. The project will serve as a "green" stopover on the route from St Petersburg to Astrakhan and onwards to Derbent and the Caspian Sea. The master plan has been approved by the Government of Tatarstan, and around 10 billion roubles have been reserved for the creation of engineering infrastructure.
Alexey Matsuev, Deputy Director of the Unified Institute for Spatial Planning of the Russian Federation, reported that the development of yachting infrastructure is enshrined in the Concept for the Development of Yacht Tourism up to 2030. In 2025, the institute, commissioned by the Ministry of Construction, completed a study on the urban planning design of marinas, proposing a clear classification, principles of functional zoning, and a methodology for evaluating promising locations.
In 2026, a new piece of work was launched – on prioritising the siting of yachting infrastructure on inland waterways. Moreover, the specialists intend not simply to talk about achievements, but to speak honestly about challenges: 56 regions have been analysed, the capacity and occupancy of existing marinas are understood, and the yacht tourism market in the country is growing on average by 6–7 per cent per annum.
All session participants agreed on the main point: yacht tourism in Russia is transitioning from isolated projects to a systemic state policy. An understanding is now emerging of how to connect water, housing, transport, and social infrastructure into a single mechanism. With a competent approach, marinas will become not merely a place for yachts, but drivers of development for entire territories.
As a reminder, the International Property Market Exhibition and Conference will run through 15 May inclusive at the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre as part of the International Economic Forum "Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum". This year's main theme is the use of artificial intelligence in construction.
At the session, participants discussed how coastal zones and water infrastructure can become new centres of attraction for tourists, investors, and local communities. The experts agreed that modern marinas and berthing complexes long ago ceased to be merely places for mooring vessels. Today, they are complex urban development hubs capable of shaping a qualitatively new way of life.
Russia possesses a unique aquatic potential – 13 seas and the largest river systems. Nikita Stasishin, Deputy Minister of Construction, Housing, and Utilities of the Russian Federation, proposed looking at marina development through an analogy with golf courses. In both cases, construction and maintenance are very costly, and boat mooring or playing golf alone does not recoup the expenditure.
World experience suggests a solution: building high-quality housing – business class or slightly above – around marinas. People are willing to pay for the opportunity to use the public infrastructure of a marina as an extension of their own residential territory. In this way, housing offsets the maintenance costs, which is especially important during the short summer season.
"A quality collaboration between marina infrastructure and a very carefully calibrated housing format will yield tremendous results," stressed Nikita Stasishin.
In addition, Stasishin proposed that the Kazan authorities launch river trams from the new marina to the city centre – this would multiply the tourist flow and make the water genuinely accessible to residents and visitors alike.
Ilsiiar Tukhvatullina spoke of water as a universal value and reminded the audience that Kazan stands on the largest reservoir in Eurasia, in the "heart of the Volga". In Soviet times, almost every family owned a boat, and there were 28 water infrastructure facilities; in the post-Soviet period, only 10 remained.
However, the situation is changing. Today, more than 30 water facilities are already enshrined in Kazan's General Plan, including 11 city marinas and 5 sports facilities. A special rule has been introduced along the waterfront: developers must not block access to the shore, meaning that at least 500 metres of accessible environment must be maintained in front of it. Moreover, all waterfront facilities are required to have mooring marinas.
The construction of yachting infrastructure is actively developing: a marina is anticipated near the recently opened "Elmai" Park, and another water facility is expected at the future "Yar Park" complex. A children's sailing school will appear slightly further downstream. On the Kremlin Embankment, investors are creating mooring facilities. "This entire system is being stitched together and is beginning to work," Tukhvatullina stated.
And that is not all of it: the immediate plans include a 700-berth marina on the "Lokomotiv" peninsula, an extreme sports centre with an artificial wave, and several children's sailing schools where up to five thousand children will be able to study; mooring facilities will also appear near the Kazan Family Centre. In total, 450 hectares of territory along the water are being developed, and each decision is discussed monthly at a special commission within the City Executive Committee.
The immediate plans include a 700-berth marina on the "Lokomotiv" peninsula, an extreme sports centre with an artificial wave, and several children's sailing schools where up to 5,000 children will be able to study.
"The more love we invest in the water, the stronger our city will be," the architect stressed, underscoring its value.
Special attention at the session was devoted to practical projects. Sergey Krasnoperov, General Director of Tourism.RF Corporation, presented the "Kazan-Marina" project – a future year-round resort in the Laishevsky District of Tatarstan, 60 kilometres from Kazan on the shore of the Kuybyshev Reservoir. The investment volume will amount to approximately 30 billion roubles. The project will feature a full-service marina for 300 yachts, an all-season boathouse for 500 vessels, a 140-metre pier for cruise ships, a five-kilometre embankment, hotels, and sports and entertainment infrastructure.
"Kazan-Marina" is already being called the future capital of yacht tourism on the Volga. The project will serve as a "green" stopover on the route from St Petersburg to Astrakhan and onwards to Derbent and the Caspian Sea. The master plan has been approved by the Government of Tatarstan, and around 10 billion roubles have been reserved for the creation of engineering infrastructure.
Alexey Matsuev, Deputy Director of the Unified Institute for Spatial Planning of the Russian Federation, reported that the development of yachting infrastructure is enshrined in the Concept for the Development of Yacht Tourism up to 2030. In 2025, the institute, commissioned by the Ministry of Construction, completed a study on the urban planning design of marinas, proposing a clear classification, principles of functional zoning, and a methodology for evaluating promising locations.
In 2026, a new piece of work was launched – on prioritising the siting of yachting infrastructure on inland waterways. Moreover, the specialists intend not simply to talk about achievements, but to speak honestly about challenges: 56 regions have been analysed, the capacity and occupancy of existing marinas are understood, and the yacht tourism market in the country is growing on average by 6–7 per cent per annum.
All session participants agreed on the main point: yacht tourism in Russia is transitioning from isolated projects to a systemic state policy. An understanding is now emerging of how to connect water, housing, transport, and social infrastructure into a single mechanism. With a competent approach, marinas will become not merely a place for yachts, but drivers of development for entire territories.
As a reminder, the International Property Market Exhibition and Conference will run through 15 May inclusive at the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre as part of the International Economic Forum "Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum". This year's main theme is the use of artificial intelligence in construction.
