TOMSK, Dec 21 – RIA Tomsk. Companies registered as residents of the Tomsk Special Economic Zone (SEZ) export their products to 158 countries, export volume since 2006 exceeded 4,3 billion rubles; one of the main results of 15 years of SEZ work was the volume of revenue of its residents - more than 24 billion rubles, the press service of the regional administration reported.
Earlier it was reported that the Tomsk SEZ, one of the six technical innovation zones of the Russian Federation, was opened on April 26, 2006. Its residents work in the fields of IT, microelectronics, instrument engineering, energy, and pharmaceuticals. The volume of business investment in production on the basis of the Tomsk SEZ reached the level of budget costs for the construction and development of the SEZ by the end of 2018 - 14 billion rubles. At the moment, there are 45 residents in the SEZ.
Results of work
According to the press service of the regional administration, in its annual analyzes the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation assesses the activities of the SEZ Tomsk as effective. The clients of the residents are many large Russian and world companies, and the products are exported to 158 countries. Since 2006, the export volume of residents has exceeded 4,3 billion rubles.
"Since 2006, more than 100 companies have become residents of the Tomsk SEZ. Their total revenue over 15 years has exceeded 24 billion rubles, and the volume of investments has exceeded 20 billion. During these years, residents have paid more than 3,1 billion rubles of taxes to the budgets of all levels", - Governor Sergey Zhvachkin is quoted in the message.
It is added that initially the SEZ was created for a 20-year period, then its validity period was extended until 2055.
Due to private investments in the SEZ, 55 thousand square meters of space were built on which residents are implementing their projects: "Today we are completing the construction of several more facilities on the Northern and Southern sites of the SEZ, the construction of the Expocenter is in progress. Since 2021 an acceleration program will be launched on the territory of the SEZ, which should become a point of attraction for startups and the regional platform Skolkovo.
Twists and turns of the Tomsk special
After the cancellation in 2018 of a number of federal tax incentives and an increase in contributions to social funds up to 30% for companies that do not work in the IT sector, the Tomsk SEZ faced an outflow of residents. By the spring of 2020, their number had decreased from 100 to 45. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, insurance premiums for residents were reduced to 14%, for the IT sector - to 7,6%, and rental of premises - by 30% (to 460 rubles per "square") until the end of 2020.
The authorities expected that 20 new residents in the SEZ could appear within the framework of the creation of the regional operator of the Skolkovo innovation center in the Tomsk region.
In 2020, it was also planned to update the zone's strategy and give a key role in it to Tomsk universities and research institutes. Regional administration and universities determine the "anchor theme" of the SEZ, and those startups whose products correspond to it will receive additional benefits.