Nyhet

Nyhet

The Astrakhan Region. Special Economic Zone “Lotus” and creation of a Port Special Economic Zone

Special economic zone of industrial production type Lotus (SEZ Lotus) and a port special economic zone (port SEZ)
SEZ Lotus and a port SEZ are located in the Astrakhan region at the intersection of the International North-South Transport Corridor (the INSTC) and the north part of the Great Silk Way. The Astrakhan region has borders with the countries of the Caspian Sea. There are 8 states within a radius of 1000 km from the Astrakhan region with a total population of more than 300 million people.
Such advantageous geopolitical location of SEZ Lotus and a port SEZ makes them the only special economic zones in Russia that have access to the markets of the countries of the Caspian Sea, India, the countries of Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Under the conditions of an active development of the International North-South Transport Corridor, implementation of a project on the territory of special economic zone in the Astrakhan region is the best solution for a company, planning to enter this market.
The INSTC that runs through the Caspian Sea and the Astrakhan region, is the shortest and the most cost-effective route for cargo deliveries from India, Southeast Asia, Africa and Middle Eastern countries to Europe and back. The main advantages of the INSTC compared to other routes, in particular over the route running through the Suez Canal, are distance reduction by more than half, time saving for container cargos transportation from 37 to 15-17 days, and 30% reduction of transportation costs.
Industrial production special economic zone Lotus (SEZ Lotus) was established in the Astrakhan region according to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation №1214 of November 18, 2014. Currently, in SEZ Lotus there are 16 tenants with more than 30 billion rubles of the declared investments, including companies from Russia, Italy, Azerbaijan and Iran. Tenants are provided with engineering infrastructure, the roads are being built, development of the territory continues.
According to the set of measures for the development of the INSTC transit potential on November 7, 2020 the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on the creation of a port special economic zone in the Astrakhan region, which will be united with the industrial-production SEZ Lotus into the Caspian Cluster, was launched. Construction of a new port and logistics complex with a modern container terminal will be the anchor project.
SEZ Lotus tenants would have the following preferences:

  • tax and customs concessions (according to the laws of the Russian Federation);
  • free connection to utility infrastructure;
  • a “one-stop shop” system breaking administrative barriers in business operations;
  • powerful logistic capabilities (rail, road and ship transport);
  • preferential land lease terms, possibility to buy a land plot upon

completing the construction of the real estate item under the land plot.
SEZ Lotus tenants can carry out various types of industrial and production activities. It is possible to establish enterprises of five hazard classes. An additional advantage is the proximity to the markets of shipbuilding and the oil and gas industry – oil and gas companies are implementing their long-term projects in the Astrakhan region and on the shelf of the Caspian Sea; large and medium-sized shipbuilding enterprises (including divisions of the United Shipbuilding Corporation) operate in the region.
Considering the political and economic situations, the most promising industries for arranging production on the territory of the SEZ Lotus are shipbuilding, production of equipment and components for oil and gas industry, chemical industry, food processing industry, pharmaceutical and other high-technology industries. The industries are determined on the basis of considerable level of recourses in the Astrakhan region and in the Southern Federal District. JSC SEZ Lotus provides the tenants with the needed amount of such resources as water, gas, electricity.
A tenant of a port SEZ may carry out the following port activities:

  • goods warehousing, storage;
  • provision and equipment of vessels;
  • water biological resources processing;
  • preparation operations of goods for sale and transportation (packing, sorting, repacking, lot dividing, marking and similar operations);
  • production, repair, maintenance, modernization of sea-going, river vessels and other components;
  • wholesale trade in goods;
  • production activity according to the port special economic zone activity agreement; Production activity on the territory of a port SEZ may be related to the predominant types of cargo as well as their modes of transportation;
  • other activities, e.g. processing of agricultural products, fish processing, wood processing, sulphur processing, production of building materials, etc. (according to the laws of the Russian Federation).


The project of an industrial production special economic zone tenant should provide at least 120 million rubles investment in his own production and this amount contains such expenses as construction of industrial facilities, equipment costs and other operating expenses necessary for commencement of works. The project of a port special economic zone tenant should provide at least 400 million rubles investment for the construction of the port infrastructure and at least 120 million rubles for the reconstruction of the port infrastructure.
To obtain a tenant status, a business plan must be developed. After a successful presentation of the business plan the company concludes an agreement on industrial production activity with the Government of the Astrakhan region and JSC “SEZ “Lotus”. Within three years of the date of conclusion of the agreement on carrying out activity a tenant is obliged to make capital investments in the amount not less than of forty million rubles. The tenant status is valid until the year 2063.
More information about the advantages of establishing an investment project on the territory of the SEZ Lotus and a port SEZ you can get by visiting the official website www.sezlotos.ru
Taking into account the governmental support from the Russian Federation and the Astrakhan Region for creating SEZ Lotus and port SEZ, active development of the INSTC, broad economic relationships with neighboring states, as well as a lot of preferences for business, we would like to invite you to become a tenant of our special economic zones and implement your project.