Sistema special economic zone to be created in Mordovia

SARANSK. Feb 14 (Interfax) - The Sistema industrial manufacturing special economic zone (SEZ) will be created in Mordovia, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev's press service reported.

The creation of the Sistema SEZ, the first in Mordovia, was approved at a meeting of the interagency working group on the creation of SEZs and priority socioeconomic development areas.

The future SEZ, which will be set up at two sites in Saransk and in the Lyambir district, will host a number of high-tech projects, including production of optical fiber. Its residents are prepared to create more than 760 new jobs.

"Mordovia is doing a great deal of work to create comfortable conditions for investors in our republic. A key mechanism is the creation of a special economic zone. We will support import substitution projects specifically in areas of high-tech manufacturing," the press service reported the leader of Mordovia, Artyom Zdunov as saying.

Zdunov said on his Telegram channel that six agreements have already been signed with potential residents of the SEZ and the anchor projects include those of Russian investment group Sistema PJSFC .

He said projects in the areas of hydrogen energy, chemicals, production of liquefied natural gas for fueling stations and production of optical fiber for import substitution in telecommunications are planned for the SEZ.

Sistema set up a management company for the SEZ in Mordovia in June 2023. The group's Sistema Telecom Assets LLC registered the subsidiary Mordovia Special Economic Zone Management Company LLC.

Mordovia's authorities reported a working meeting with a delegation from Sistema in April 2021 at which they discussed cooperation between the republic and the company. Sistema said it was prepared to carry out investment projects in the areas of high technology, agribusiness, medicine and road construction.