The special economic zone (SEZ) 'Kulibin' is created in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Region, as per decree of the Russian Federal Government, published earlier in May 2020. The total area of SEZ in Dzerzhinsk, based on the territory of JSC 'DPO Plastic', is over 72 hectares. The site has all the necessary infrastructure, significant energy capacities, and a potential to increase the territory by another 400 hectares in the future.

The creation of the Zone, complementing the local cluster of techno- and industrial parks, R&D centres and business incubators, will back up the regional competition and improve allow to bring business conditions to a notably higher competition level. The immediate preferences that SEZ 'Kulibin' will provide to its residents are a relief of income tax rates (from 20% to 2% in the first 5 years, to 5% in the next 5 years, and to 14.5% onward), as well as establishing property, land and transport tax rates at 0%. The Zone was developed by the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Development Corporation, which will act as its managing company.

Priority activity sectors of the Zone will be, although not limited to, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, which are of high socio-economic importance for Russia in general. That is why the territory of SEZ 'Kulibin' is located in Dzerzhinsk - one of Russia’s largest chemical production centers. It will also back up the innovation industries already active in the area, such as producers of enhanced gas engine fuels, industrial dispersions for building and construction, etc.

The special economic zone is named after Ivan Kulibin – a Nizhny Novgorod-born mechanic and inventor who lived in 1735-1818. He is best known for crafting a miniature egg-shaped clock (pictured) in 1767, which contained a complex automatic mechanism with a built-in mini-theatre and jukebox. Many of Kulibin's other sophisticated creations were well ahead of their time.

The Nizhny Novgorod region is a key industrial and economic area of European Russia, and the city is the administrative centre of the Privolzhsky (Near-the-Volga river) Federal District of the country, located ca. 400 km east of Moscow. The District unites 14 regions and republics with 29.4 million inhabitants (Russia’s 20%) on only about 6% of the country’s territory. Industrial production, ICT and R&D, (petro)chemistry and pharma, heavy machine building, aerospace and shipbuilding, transport and logistics, food processing, as well as tourism are the main economic sectors of the District.