Tomsk SEZ residents invested 800 mln rub in projects over six months

TOMSK, Oct 27 – RIA Tomsk. Residents of the Tomsk Special Economic Zone (SEZ) invested over 800 million rubles in projects and created 100 jobs in six months of 2021, they also paid 287 million rubles in taxes, the press service of the regional administration reported on Wednesday.

According to the press service, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Siberian Federal District held a working meeting with the Governor of the Tomsk region Sergey Zhvachkin on Wednesday, during which the regional head spoke, among other things, about the Tomsk SEZ.

"In the first half of 2021, residents of the SEZ invested more than 800 million rubles in projects, created 100 new jobs and paid 287 million rubles in taxes," the press service informed.

The governor also introduced the envoy to plans for further development of the region's innovation infrastructure facilities and told him about the Big University project and the construction of an inter-university campus.

Earlier it was reported that the Tomsk SEZ, one of the six technical innovative zones of the Russian Federation, was opened in 2006. Following the abolition of a number of federal tax benefits and an increase in contributions to social funds for non-IT companies, Tomsk SEZ has faced an exodus of residents. From 2018 to 2021, their number dropped from 100 first to 39, with three companies becoming new residents in 2020 and 2021.

It was also reported that the Big University project involves uniting all the universities and research institutes of Tomsk into a single scientific and educational consortium, while preserving the legal autonomy of all participants. The main objective of the project is to combine the scientific, educational and infrastructural capabilities of the universities to compete fully with the world's university centers.