SEZ "Kulibin" is a special economic zone of the industrial-production type, established in May 2020 on Dzerzhinsk. The management company is the Nizhny Novgorod Region Development Corporation. In November 2025, the zone was expanded to include a site in the city of Bor, bringing its total area to 842 hectares. According to Governor Gleb Nikitin, taking into account the Bor site, the SEZ's area has grown more than elevenfold since its founding — at the outset, in 2020, it covered 72.3 hectares.[1][1]

Composition and Infrastructure

The Dzerzhinsk portion of the SEZ covers 724 hectares and includes a state-owned site as well as three private ones: DPO "Plastik", "Oka-Polimer", and "Sintez OKA". By the time the zone was expanded, the private sites were already fully equipped with infrastructure.[3] In November 2025, the Russian government signed a decree expanding the SEZ's territory by 117 hectares through the addition of a site in the city of Bor.[1] Among the announced projects is the launch of a high-tech robotized electric vehicle manufacturing facility. As of April 2026, 56 companies had become residents of the SEZ, and the total volume of investment in the creation of production facilities had exceeded 160 billion rubles; by the end of 2025, the zone's expert council had approved projects with a combined declared investment volume of over 167 billion rubles. The first enterprise to be commissioned on the state-owned site was the Aksis carbide tooling and technological equipment plant, with an investment of over 3 billion rubles, designed to produce approximately 1,500 tonnes of output per year and create 442 jobs.[4][2]

Preferences for Residents

SEZ residents benefit from a preferential tax regime: the profit tax is reduced from 25% to 2% in the first five years of operation, to 5% in the following five years, and to 14.5% in subsequent years. The benefit takes effect from the tax period in which the resident first earned a profit. In addition, residents are fully exempt from property, land, and transport taxes.[1]

The "Made in Kulibin" Brand

In 2026, the management company developed and launched the "Made in Kulibin" mark to promote the products of resident enterprises. The first holder of the mark was RusSilika — Russia's only manufacturer of micronized silica gels and stable silica sols.[3] Nizhny Novgorod Region Deputy Governor Yegor Polyakov noted that the mark would be visible across many regions of the country and would help attract new investors to the site.[1] Igor Ishchenko stated that the mark would subsequently appear on the products of other SEZ residents as well.[3]

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

The SEZ's state-owned site covers 416 hectares; by April 2026, 8.33 km of roads had been laid from scratch, the construction of electrical and gas distribution systems had been fully completed, and overall infrastructure readiness had exceeded 70%; completion of all infrastructure work is planned for 2026.[5]

Looking ahead, plans call for the creation of a fully developed urban environment on the SEZ's territory: the construction of a residential quarter, a cultural center, and a school; by 2029, approximately 65 new production facilities are expected to be located on the site, with investment in the regional economy projected at around 175 billion rubles and the creation of 7,000 jobs.[6]

Sources

  1. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — SEZ "Kulibin" rose to 4th place in the national investment attractiveness rating of Russia's SEZs. Nizhny Novgorod News — Based on the results of the 9th National Rating of Investment… (archive)
  2. Vremya N — SEZ "Kulibin" launches the "Made in Kulibin" brand for residents' products (archive)
  3. Zhivyom v Nizhnem — The "Made in Kulibin" mark appears for the first time on a resident's products — Zhivem v Nizhnem (archive)
  4. V gorode N — The territory of billion-ruble factories: what SEZ "Kulibin" near Nizhny Novgorod looks like and how it is being built — As of April 2026, 56 companies had become residents of the SEZ, and the total investment volume… (archive)
  5. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — The first resident of Nizhny Novgorod's SEZ "Kulibin" has placed the "Made in Kulibin" mark on its products (archive)
  6. Kommersant (Volga Region) — The Development Corporation presented the opportunities of SEZ "Kulibin" to Russian chemical enterprises — Plans call for the creation of a fully developed urban environment on the SEZ's territory in the future… (archive)