Alabuga, a special economic zone for industrial and production development, was one of the first such zones created in Russia on December 21, 2005 in the territory of the Elabuga district of the Republic of Tatarstan. With a total area of 20 sq. km it is one of the the largest special economic zone for industrial and production development in Russia.
The purpose of Alabuga is to assist in the development of the economy of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Russian Federation as a whole by means of establishing the most favorable conditions for investment projects in industrial production by both Russian and international companies.
Alabuga is located in the center of the Kamsk economic district with a population of 1 million (including the cities of Naberezhnye Chelny, Nizhnekamsk and Elabuga) offering a sufficient quantity of skilled labour resources required for industrial production. Also there are logistic advantages (proximity to highways and railroads, freight and passenger ports, the Begishevo international airport, etc.) and a great industrial history: the largest enterprises of the economy of Tatarstan according to the European scale are located close to the SEZ (KAMAZ, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, Nizhnekamskshina, etc.); the largest double-purpose industrial enterprise, the Kamsky tractor plant, was planned at the current site of the SEZ during Soviet times.
All of the above, combined with significant customs and tax benefits and preferred treatment for property leases and purchases, makes the Alabuga Special Economic Zone one of the most attractive investment sites for leading international and Russian industrial companies.
Significant practical results have been achieved in just two years from the creation of Alabuga. As for the rate of development of infrastructure of all types (industrial, business and customs) Alabuga runs ahead of all other special economic zones in the Russian Federation.
The administrative and business center Alabuga, one of the best business centers in Tatarstan, was commissioned in August, 2007. The modern customs terminal at Alabuga, being a special pride of the SEZ personnel, creates the most comfortable conditions for resident's activities due to very efficient processing of its functions. It began operations on April 21, 2008. The Alabuga site does not have anything analogous in Tatarstan as to the dynamics of construction of the industrial infrastructure (a great building volume in a relatively short period of time).
The operation of a "One Window" system, combining representative offices of 16 governmental bodies and institutions, has also been initiated with a view toward creating the most favorable conditions for the residents' activities in Alabuga. This system has been implemented for the first time on an industrial site.
It is planned to invest 18.5 billion roubles of budgetary funds for Alabuga infrastructure of all types of which 5 billion roubles have already been invested.
At present, seven companies representing various industries are registered in Alabuga. The total volume of declared investments provided by these companies exceeds $750 million. Plans are in place to create 4,500 jobs with these companies.
In two years of SEZ activities, residents of Alabuga have invested 5.7 billion roubles. The zone has provided 786 jobs as of the end of May, 2008. By the end of the first quarter, 2008, the volume of tax revenue at all levels was equal to 72 million roubles. At the beginning of 2008 production of the first Fiat Ducato vans and ISUZU trucks began in Alabuga.