Problem area

Projects for the development of a pharmaceutical cluster in St. Petersburg are postponed
due to the lack of infrastructure and benefits in the SEZ

FarmvestnikResidents of the St. Petersburg special economic zone, created 5 years ago, still cannot take advantage of the preferences provided by a residence permit in it, writes dp.ru .

The problem is the disruption of the terms of infrastructure preparation, which should be carried out with federal funds. Engineering training has been completed only at the Neudorf site, and in Novoorlovskaya it is still ongoing, but customs posts are not working at any of the zones yet.

The most urgent problem turned out to be for the participant of the pharmaceutical cluster – Novartis Neva (the volume of investments in the creation of the enterprise is $140 million).

The company received a construction permit 3 weeks ago, the start of construction of the main production and engineering buildings was scheduled for May. "But there is no electricity to the site in the SEZ Novoorlovskaya, the work is carried out at the expense of generators, there is no storm sewer, the promised opening of customs posts by the end of this year is also disrupted," said Vadim Vlasov, president of Novartis Group of Companies.

Customs posts have already been built, but the exact opening date is still unknown, says Vladimir Yurgin, CEO of CJSC ArSiAySintez (development of anticancer drugs in the SEZ Novoorlovskaya). "The commissioning of the plant worth $140 million was planned for 2014, but due to unfulfilled promises of JSC SEZ, the project is becoming more expensive," says Vadim Vlasov.

According to him, expensive equipment accounts for 5% of investments, without benefits, the presence in the SEZ loses its meaning. "The start of construction of our plant for the production of clinical diagnostics is scheduled for May," says Irina Goltseva, Financial Director of Vital Development Corporation. She also admits that it was the lack of customs and engineering infrastructure that forced the company to reconsider plans and divide the project into three stages.

Residents of the SEZ, which consists of two sections – "Neudorf" and "Novoorlovskaya", can count on a reduction in the unified social tax rate to 14% and customs privileges. The city has pledged to build roads in the zone, and the federal budget has pledged to provide engineering infrastructure. All this should reduce the costs of residents to create production facilities by about 30%.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru10.05.2012