Zelenodolsk PSEDA attracting residents with 3 billion investments
They are expected to appear in the economic zone before the end of the year, now they are negotiating with companies
Zelenodolsk PSEDA has been presented in Tatarstan — the young economic zone with preferential tax conditions, which has attracted five residents with a total cost of investment projects of 1,1 billion rubles over a year. Minister of Economy of the republic Farid Abdulganiev reported on the plans of giant companies (Ozon and Yandex.Market) in the near future to locate on the territory of Tatarstan with the wholesale distribution centres, one of which also intends to become a resident of the PSEDA in Zelenodolsk. According to the minister of economy, negotiations are conducted with three large companies, whose names have not been disclosed yet. Read the detail in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
Tatarstan experience
“First there appear anchor residents, then — a feverish demand for the remaining land plots. This is the question of trust: if someone decides to place their assets on a particular territory, other entrepreneurs also make a positive decision,” the minister of economy of Tatarstan explained the principle of filling the site in Zelenodolsk with residents. Now, according to him, negotiations are underway with several potential residents, which, however, he did not name, because the final agreements with them have not yet been reached.
According to Abdulganiev, two weeks ago Ozon decided to build a distribution centre on 40,000 square metres. “We have studied the experience of the company in Tver — there is a 60,000-square metre centre. What is more, we saw how it was developing: first, it was a center, like from the early 2000s, now it is a different standard and acceptance of goods, and shipment, sorting. 300,000 items of goods are shipped daily, we promise that the figure will be larger,” the minister said.
After this decision, like by the example, Yandex.Market also decided to join — they also decided to place their wholesale distribution centre in Tatarstan, in the suburbs of Kazan, although not in Zelenodolsk, “We are negotiating with another two or three strong companies, there will be meetings until the end of July, including a visit to this industrial site. We will inform you on the results,” he promised.
In general, negotiations are underway with eight companies, “but how many of them will be able to enter depends on the requested area” and the financial capabilities of a potential resident: “If we really see that the resident is ready for these conditions, then we conclude an agreement. It is also necessary to confirm the availability of borrowed funds, free funds, account balances and so on.” The total investment is 3,2 billion rubles, and potentially 980 new jobs will be created.
Abdulganiev reminded that the PSEDA — the temporary (10 years) tool for preferences. At the moment, the 10-year plan for residents has been fulfilled by 45%. “[In Tatarstan] now there are five of them, the leader, of course, among all in Russia — Naberezhnye Chelny. <...> The PSEDA will give us 18,000 jobs and about 38 billion investments,” he said.
The last of the republican sites appeared is the PSEDA in Mendeleevsk, so far it has no residents at all. Abdulganiev noted that it really will be the last one — they will not be opened in the republic anymore.
Benefits of discord
The minister announced a law initiated by the ministry of economic development and expected by the end of the year. The law will reorganize the work of special zones, take into account the best practices of development. Abdulganiev also reminded about the recent idea of the government to deprive the sites that do not cope well with attracting investors of the special economic zone status. “By Russia we can see that the PSEDA was opened, but there is only one resident, or no at all. It's like a farm without farmers,” said the minister to the correspondent of Realnoe Vremya.
As Realnoe Vremya found out earlier, the heads of Kamsko-Ustyinsky and Aznakaevsky districts appealed to the president of the Republic of Tatarstan with the proposal to include their municipal industrial parks in the PSEDAs of Zelenodolsk and Naberezhnye Chelny. They noted that the preferential conditions of the territories of advanced development deprive them of their potential residents and asked for the extension of benefits into the residents who expand their businesses in the industrial park. According to Abdulganiev, this is the typical “the neighbour’s berries are tastier” situation:
“This is the simplest position: everyone offends me. It all depends on how the approach of the head of the municipal district is economic. We need to understand that it is benefits and, at the same time, additional incentive to achieve very difficult, tight indicators,” added Abdulganiev.
The head of Zelenodolsk district, Alexander Tygin, judging by his words, does not neglect the personal supervision of projects: “For me, it is important, first of all, to establish human relations with each resident, so that they are sure that we are seriously, thoroughly approach their projects that and we are ready to solve them in every detail. There are a lot of nuances: each construction site entails hundreds of details. This contact allows to remove them.”
New pharmacists
The tour around the sites started with Tatfarm, which is set in a 22,000-square metre area in the industrial park Zelenodolsk on the site of Novaya Tura. The journalists were shown a warehouse where drugs, packaging products, raw materials will be stored, also the warehouse will provide safe storage services for the pharmaceutical industry. “There are no such warehouses in Tatarstan, there are very few of them in Russia,” said director Artem Khakimov. The raw material supplier will be China because of favourable prices.
The company has preliminary arrangements with Indian companies that do not have local production facilities here but they are now registering their products to sell them in the Russian market.
The production process will be launched before the end of 2021: “It will be capsules, tablets — 24 million conditional packages a year, liquid dosage forms — injections, 21 million ampoules.” 200 jobs will be created to work in two shifts with the possibility of a three-shift schedule.
The location in Tatarstan was chosen because of the scientific potential of the region, namely, a large number of universities that train the necessary specialists — chemists-technologists, pharmacists and so forth, continued Khakimov (he is from Kazan and is a graduate of the former department of Institute of Computational Mathematics and Information Technologies at the KSU). He also noted the very good location of Zelenodolsk.
The volume of investments is about 1 billion rubles. As Abdulganiev later explained, this billion is provided by the Fund for the Development of Single-Industry Towns: “Additional co-financing is from the budget of the Republic of Tatarstan. <...> Usually, 95% [provided by the fund]. Depending on the types of work — the fund does not accept some, respectively, we take them over.”
Industrial investments
SPK Gefest PLC will bring the investments of 120 million to the site. “It is planned to purchase equipment worth 120 million, create about 40 jobs with an average salary of 28,000-30,000 rubles,” said director of the metalworking project Lenar Bikmullin. Not only residents of Zelenodolsk, but also settlements that can reach the city by rail, for example, from Volzhsk, will be employed.
The equipment was paid for at the end of March, this month they have begun to receive applications: “I think in the fourth quarter we will reach a more or less stable operation,” Bikmullin shared with Realnoe Vremya.
This is the only leased facility of those that have been demonstrated to the journalists today, the rest raise up their own buildings. “Why spend money on a building if you can spend it on equipment?” continues the interlocutor. “ We plan, of course, to ask for more space in the future. But so far we have not occupied the entire space here.” After receiving the equipment, the building will be zoned, Bikmullin shared.
The most recent resident, who appeared here in this May, is Promenergo, the company for the production of complex devices, in common terms called “electric cabinets”. It is planned to start the production in the third quarter of this year. “With the investor, we have built 1,500 square metres of the production facility, where we could organize the production of smart metering panels, and we plan to organize the assembly ourselves,” said Sergey Afonin, the director of the company.
The only resident whose site is still at the level of the foundation is the Kazan Plant of Polymer Reinforcement. Financial Head of the company Maya Shoyetova explained that this foundation is one of future industrial buildings, it covers an area of 1,500 sq. m. “In total, it will include seven buildings for industrial purposes [with an area of 7,500 sq. m]. Finished products — polymer products, polymer fittings for heat, gas and water supply of polyethylene of PE 100 grade. The suppliers of raw materials will be Kazanorgsintez and Nizhnekamskneftekhim — they all are local, it is a good competitive advantage for us that we will minimally spend on transportation.”
The investments — about 50 million rubles. In the first and second quarter of 2020, it is planned to start the production, in 2019 the first part is completed, continued Shoetova:
“We expect to work in our own region in the first place, to focus on end users: Vodokanal, Tatarstan Gasification Fund, they will also benefit from us [due to our location].”
