Free economic zones (FEZ) are thought to be a powerful instrument of the governmental policy. In Russia such zones began to be formed in the early 1990s, but the process of their formation was unsystematic. Experts connect this with an absence of the necessary laws and a constant conflict between regions and the federal center for maximum benefits for FEZ and the right to the control over them.
The situation has changed now. FEZ are being formed to attract investments from foreign and Russian companies; encouragement of regions’ development; development of high-technology industries and services; and creation of highly-professional jobs.
A special economic zone 'Hammer and Sickle' is going to be established in the Oryol Region. According to Bekkhan Ozdoyev, vice-governor of the Oryol Region, the history of the creation of the special economic zone started on May 18th 2015 after the meeting between Vladimir Potomsky and President Putin. The region created a working group headed by the governor. “As the deputy head of the working group, I report to the governor about what we did during the week, and the prospects for the next week. We decided on a meeting between the governor and the president of Binbank, Mikhail Shishkhanov, we are now preparing the agreement on Binbank being the general bank of the special economic zone in our region.
Secondly, in Sochi, at the Economic Forum, the governor met with the president of AFK Sistema, Vladimir Yevtushenkov. They discussed attracting the structure to our special economic zone. Now they are preparing a road map for the governor, a program, what they want to do.”
Moreover, according to Ozdoyev, now there is an idea of finding a major resident who will build an industrial complex on the territory of the special economic zone and then rent it out: “On the territory of 500 hectares of land, we get 1.5 million square meters of industrial facilities, these are special hangars for any production. And gradually, by 500 thousand meters, they will build it.”
At the same time, the head of the Oryol Region is negotiating with interested foreign investors - Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Korea, and China. “In the current economic situation, it is very difficult to find such outstanding investors from Europe. But, on the other hand, we have good relations with these countries, and they are ready to come to the region, because the logistics here are about 350-360 kilometers from Moscow, around 45 million population, it is a very interesting project,” Bekkhan Ozdoyev said.
