Representatives of the Caspian Cluster of Special Economic Zones Took Part in the III International Forum of Special Economic Zones

The III International Forum of Special Economic Zones, which brought together more than 1 300 participants from Russian regions and 15 foreign countries, was held in Nizhny Novgorod. The event was timed to mark the 20th anniversary of the development of the special economic zone institution in Russia and became a key international platform for discussing prospects of the sector. The organizers were the Association of Clusters, Technology Parks and SEZ of Russia, the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, with support from the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.

 Within the forum, representatives of federal and regional authorities, major corporations, and management companies discussed issues related to improving the regulatory framework for preferential territories, business models, innovation infrastructure, low-carbon development of industrial sites, and international cooperation within SEZs.

 Svyatoslav Sorokin, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia, spoke about the legislative changes being prepared. SEZs will now be able to expand to accommodate the needs of large investors, and tenants will receive more flexible rules for investments. A new package of amendments to the regulatory and legal framework has been formed taking into account proposals from regions, management companies, and the tenants themselves.

 The main innovation concerns the mechanism for expanding the territory of SEZs – previously, this required a zone to achieve certain effectiveness indicators. Now it is planned to permit expansion even before the official evaluation, if a large investor enters the zone. The minimum threshold is set at the level of 20 billion rubles for industrial and port zones and 5 billion rubles for tourist and technical-innovation zones.

 In addition, the possibility of what’s called a fast technical expansion is being formalized – when infrastructure facilities need to be included in the zone. In that case, there will be no need to convene a federal interdepartmental working group, the decision will be formalized by an additional agreement.

 The changes will also affect requirements for the tenants themselves. Currently, for many projects the obligation to invest two thirds of the declared investment within the first three years becomes a problem. The new procedure replaces this with minimum thresholds: 150 million rubles for industrial projects, 5 million rubles for tourist and port zones, and only 1 million rubles for technical-innovation zones. This will allow considering the specifics of different investment cycles and reduce the risk of promising initiatives being frozen.

 At present, the draft resolution is going through interdepartmental coordination. The new rules are planned to come into force in the first quarter of 2026, which will allow businesses to take them into account in their plans in advance.

 – We seek to make the rules more predictable and flexible. For large investors it is important that the site is available immediately, and for the management companies that infrastructure can be connected without unnecessary bureaucracy, – noted Svyatoslav Sorokin.

The forum participants also discussed opportunities for the development and improvement of the SEZ tool to promote industrial cooperation and sustainable growth of enterprises, including via integrating special economic zones into international production-logistics networks, improving models for infrastructure management, attracting investors, and lowering barriers for cross-border investment.

 Particular attention was paid to developing the International Association of SEZs of the BRICS countries, created to build an investment-attraction ecosystem and implement infrastructure projects aimed at sustainable development. A key working tool became the “single window” service solution, which facilitates the entry of foreign companies into the Russian market.

 The “BRICS SEZs Digital Map” – a unified investment navigator developed by the Association of Clusters, Technology Parks and SEZ of Russia – was presented to the attendees. The platform contains comprehensive information about special economic zones in the territory of the BRICS countries, as well as the incentives in force on their territories. It became the first practical result of cooperation among the countries of the union under the International Association of SEZs of the BRICS countries – a specialized platform established at the initiative of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia in the course of Russia’s chairmanship of BRICS in 2024.

 – The platform contains information on the specialization, preferences, tenants, and contact details of special economic zones of the BRICS countries. In the future we plan to expand the functionality of this tool by adding information about the products produced by the tenants of the SEZs. This will help to establish new distribution channels, simplify the search for components and equipment for our manufacturers in friendly markets, – noted Nikita Kondratyev, Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia.

During the forum, 15 cooperation agreements were signed between development agencies, special economic zones and public organizations, including foreign partnerships.

 – For the Management Company of the Caspian Cluster of SEZs, participation in such events is always a powerful impulse for development. At the forum, we became acquainted with best management practices, the cluster approach and new legislative initiatives. We held business meetings to establish partnerships. Compliance with norms and trends is an important component of our work, as is the development of innovative, sustainable infrastructure that contributes to attracting investment and strengthening international cooperation. Applying new knowledge helps us offer the best terms of our sites to future investors, including foreign ones, which ultimately has a positive effect on the investment policy of the entire country, – commented Irina Bocharnikova, Head of the Investor’s Division of SEZ Lotus JSC.