Duration of effective preferential development territories in Russia should be extended - Trutnev

KHABAROVSK. April 20 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev has instructed the Far East Development Ministry, the Economic Development Ministry and the Finance Ministry to analyze the operations of preferential development territories and submit proposals to the Russian government on extending the duration of those of them that contribute significantly to regional economic development, Trutnev's press service said in a statement.

"Given today's economic situation, given the requirements for the country's economy, it is necessary to prolong duration of preferential zones operating efficiently," Trutnev said during a meeting of an interdepartmental working group on the creation of special economic zones (SEZ) and priority development areas (PDA) in single-industry towns.

The point of preferential regimes is "to develop the economy of the regions and the country as a whole faster," he said.

Trutnev recalled that the first special economic zones appeared in Russia in 1991, with 50 SEZ operational today. The total volume of investments in projects being implemented in SEZ is 822 billion rubles.

"PDAs and a free port were created a quarter of a century later than SEZ, and the volume of investments in them exceeds 3 trillion rubles. This indicates that it is necessary to analyze the effectiveness of management of SEZ," Trutnev said.

During the meeting, Deputy Economic Development Minister Dmitry Vakhrukov said that the government has adopted criteria for evaluating SEZs (excluding the Far Eastern Federal District) in order to extend the period when new residents have the right to apply reduced insurance contribution rates. The Economic Development Ministry has approved the procedure for maintaining a register of such PDAs.

There have been 89 PDAs created in single-industry towns in Russia. The period of their operation in 2022 was extended from 10 to 12 years for PDAs in single-industry towns that meet two criteria: there is at least one resident company and the unemployment rate is two times higher than the average Russian level. Previously, the decision to extend the period of preferential insurance contribution rates was made regarding 4 territories in Kuzbass: Anzhero-Sudzhensk, Novokuznetsk, Prokopyevsk and Yurga.

The meeting also resulted in a decision to extend reduced insurance contribution rates to nine PDAs located in single-industry towns with a difficult social and economic situation (Abaza, Belaya Kholunitsa, Dagestanskie Ogni, Emva, Kostomuksha, Kondopoga, Onega, Nytva and Tutaev).

The decision to extend the period of preferential rates of insurance contributions for these nine PDAs is was prompted by these territories meeting the criteria of registered unemployment being two times higher than the national average (0.7%) as of March 1 this year, according to Labor Ministry data.