Serbian businessman and Siemens agree on raising eco-bus charging stations in Moscow

Germany’s Siemens AG and Russia’s ABS Electro, owned by Serbian businessman Nenad Popovic, signed an agreement on the construction of stations for electrical charging of ecological buses in Moscow on the margins of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2017).

– These are the latest technologies, and it’s a great honor for us to have Siemens choose us for its partners – Popovic said and added that the project had been proposed by the Department of Transport of the City of Moscow.

Popovic says that, aside from its being a new technological step forward which would enable new employments, it would also make for a healthier environment for the citizens. There are not many electric buses in the world, he says and adds that charging had been a great issue until then.

– In order for a bus to be operational throughout the day, charging needed to last for several hours. Last year, Siemens made a big step forward technologically by producing stations capable of charging the buses in several minutes, and recharging is required only after 350 kilometers – Popovic says.

He says that such buses are already being used in all Scandinavian capitals, as well as in Moscow, which has decided to buy 200 electric buses a year starting with 2018.

According to him, this is the second joint project of ABS Electro and Siemens.

– Last year, we signed a joint project of production of traction substations in the Moscow subway and the Russian railways – the businessman says.

ABS Electro is one of the leading companies in Russia in the field of advanced technological equipment and software for electrical energy, hydroenergy, gas and oil industry, shipbuilding and defense industry.

ABS Electro contains eight factories and a scientific research institute, located in the Chuvash Republic, Saint Petersburg and Moscow. It employs more than 3,000 people, predominantly young engineers. Aside from a strategic cooperation with Siemens, ABS Electro has had a joint Russian-based company with ABB, the Swedish-Swiss electric equipment giant, for 23 years.

POPOVIC: Come to Russia, you will be favored

Nenad Popovic has also invited Serbian entrepreneurs to try their hand at doing business in the Russian market.

– Serbian citizens are favored in Russia like few others. First, they don’t need visas, which is a great advantage, second, they don’t need special work permits either. They have all the privileges they need, and I also believe that the way people from Serbia are treated is entirely pleasant and decent. They are trying to help wherever they can – Popovic said for Tanjug.

He explains that all the biggest global and European companies are in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but also that there’s fewer of them, which is where an opportunity lies for entrepreneurs looking to start their business in a market as big as the one in Russia.

– I would advise anyone doing business to try their hand here. They don’t have to go to Moscow or Saint Petersburg immediately. Serbian products can be found in Moscow, but as you go further around the country, they can’t be found. There’s even fewer Serbian construction workers. I would advise everyone to orient themselves to those parts of the country initially. They are not any less rich, and it is much easier to start a business there, to be well accepted and to have less competition – Popovic says.

According to him, these areas need Serbian goods, as well as services, whether in construction, the food industry...

– Once you’ve started a business in one region, doors will open in all the others, as you’ve now acquired references and recommendations for further work – Popovic points out.

Siemens AG Munich

ABS Electro Moscow

ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd. Zürich

Siemens AG

ABS Electro

Nenad Popovic

SPIEF 2017

electric charging of ecological buses

ABB

doing business in Russia