Kulibin SEZ is an industrial-production special economic zone established in May 2020 on the territory of Dzerzhinsk. The management company is the Corporation for the Development of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. In November 2025, the zone was expanded to include a site in the town of Bor, bringing its total area to 842 hectares. According to Governor Gleb Nikitin, with the Bor site included, the area of the SEZ has grown more than 11-fold since its founding — originally, in 2020, it covered 72.3 hectares.[1][2]

Composition and infrastructure

The Dzerzhinsk part of the SEZ covers 724 hectares and includes a state-owned site as well as three private ones: DPO Plastik, Oka-Polymer, and Sintez OKA. By the time of the zone's expansion, the private sites were already equipped with infrastructure.[3] In November 2025, the Russian government signed a resolution expanding the SEZ territory by 117 hectares to include a site in the town of Bor.[2] Among the announced projects is the opening of a high-tech robotic electric vehicle production facility. The planned robotic electric vehicle production at the SEZ site is tied to cooperation between Nizhny Novgorod Region and Belarus: it is intended to be established as part of the Nizhekotrans joint venture in order to expand the range of manufactured products.[10] As of April 2026, 56 companies had become SEZ residents, and the total volume of investment in creating production facilities exceeded 160 billion rubles; by the end of 2025, the zone's expert council had approved projects with a combined declared investment volume of more than 167 billion rubles. The first enterprise commissioned at the state-owned site was the Aksis plant, producing carbide tools and technological tooling, with an investment volume of over 3 billion rubles, designed to produce about 1,500 tons of products per year and create 442 jobs.[4][5]

Preferences for residents

Residents of the SEZ enjoy a preferential tax regime: the corporate profit tax is reduced from 25% to 2% for the first five years of operation, to 5% for the following five years, and to 14.5% in subsequent years. Residents of the Kulibin SEZ can take advantage of preferential lending under a joint program of Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and the SME Corporation: investment loans are provided through the SME Bank at a rate of 10% per annum for amounts of up to 200 million rubles and terms of up to five years; in 2026 the Russian government allocated 3.5 billion rubles to the program, extending its operation through 2030, and over the course of the program entrepreneurs from single-industry towns and SEZs have attracted almost 1 billion rubles in preferential financing and guarantee support.[6] The benefit takes effect from the tax period in which the resident first earned a profit. In addition, full exemption from property, land, and transport taxes is provided.[2]

The "Made in Kulibin" Brand

In 2026, the management company developed and launched the "Made in Kulibin" mark to promote products of resident enterprises. Its first holder was the company RusSilika, the only producer in Russia of micronized silica gels and stable silica sols.[3] Deputy Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Yegor Polyakov noted that the mark will be visible in many regions of the country and will help attract new investors to the site.[2] Igor Ischenko, Director General of the Development Corporation, said that the mark will later appear on the products of other SEZ residents as well.[3]

According to the results of the 9th National Investment Attractiveness Rating of Russian SEZs, prepared by the Association of Clusters, Technology Parks, and SEZs of Russia with the support of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, Kulibin took fourth place in December 2025, moving up one position over the year, and was also recognized in the special category "Comfortable Ecosystem."[4]

The state-owned SEZ site covers 416 hectares; by April 2026, 8.33 km of roads had been built from scratch, construction of the electrical and gas distribution systems had been fully completed, and the overall readiness of the infrastructure exceeded 70%; completion of all infrastructure work is planned for 2026.[3]

In the longer term, a full-fledged urban environment is planned on the SEZ territory: a residential district, a cultural center, and a school are to be built; by 2029 the site is expected to host about 65 new production facilities, and investment in the regional economy is projected to reach about 175 billion rubles, with 7,000 jobs created.[7]

Sources

  1. Business News. Time to Earn — The planned robotic production of electric vehicles at the SEZ site is linked to cooperation between Nizhny Novgorod Region and Belarus: it is intended to be creat (archive)
  1. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — The Kulibin SEZ has risen to 4th place in the national investment attractiveness ranking of Russian SEZs. Nizhny Novgorod News — According to the results of the 9th National Ranking of Investment… (archive)
  2. Vremya N — The "Made in Kulibin" brand has been launched in the Kulibin SEZ for residents' products (archive)
  3. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — The first resident of the Nizhny Novgorod Kulibin SEZ has placed the "Made in Kulibin" mark on its products (archive)
  4. V gorode N — The territory of multibillion-ruble plants: what the Kulibin SEZ near Nizhny Novgorod looks like and how it is being built — As of April 2026, 56 companies have become SEZ residents, and the total investment volume… (archive)
  5. Zhivyom v Nizhnem — The "Made in Kulibin" mark has appeared for the first time on the products of an SEZ resident — Zhivem v Nizhnem (archive)
  6. Vremya N — Kulibin SEZ residents can take advantage of preferential lending under a joint program of Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and the SME Corporation: inves
  7. Kommersant (Volga Region) — The Development Corporation presented the opportunities of the Kulibin SEZ to Russian chemical enterprises — In the future, a full-fledged urban environment is planned to be created on the SEZ territory… (archive)
  8. Zhivyom v Nizhnem — To support Kulibin SEZ residents, the government has allocated 3.5 billion rubles for preferential lending, designed to run through 2030. The site's residents can receive (archive)
  9. nn.dk.ru — Kulibin SEZ residents have access to preferential lending under a program of Russia's Ministry of Economic Development and the SME Corporation: loans are provided