Since the world entered the information age, high-tech industries centered around information technology have become the vanguard force driving national and regional development, and are also an important component of many countries' overall development strategies.
With the development and growth of high-tech industries, a number of industrial parks or special zones such as Silicon Valley have emerged globally. They have incubated a large number of well-known high-tech enterprises through their efficiency advantages in clustering, cost advantages in scale, and targeted support from taxation, policies, and regulations.
A.S. Popov technopark in Innopolis city
After entering the 21st century, some high-tech industrial zones have been continuously exploring deeper on the path of functional integration, further advancing on the basis of forming a full chain of "production, education, and research", and are creating the latest form of cities in human history.
The Innopolis SEZ (Special Economic Zone of Innopolis) located in the Republic of Tatarstan is an outstanding example of this trend. Having emerged in the field less than 10 years ago, Innopolis is a unique ecosystem for IT specialists including a university, an SEZ and social infrastructure. In the public eye, this economic zone is particularly famous for Innopolis University, a world-renowned institution that focuses on teaching and research in the fields of IT and robotics.
Innopolis University
A Dreamy Technology City
From a higher perspective, Innopolis SEZ is not just an ordinary economic zone, but also a high-tech city built on "code" with complete functions. As Mr. Renat Khalimov, CEO of Innopolis SEZ, said, "This is a young and highly innovative city built from scratch to realize the dreams of IT experts."
This brand new city is mainly based on three components: scientific and educational infrastructure, economic regions, and life service facilities, creating all conditions for local residents to live, learn, develop, and establish their careers comfortably. The integration of technology and comfortable living in small towns is one of Innopolis's biggest characteristics. "According to a study, the happiness index of Innopolis city residents in 2023 was 84%," the CEO said.
The cutting-edge technology has penetrated into the daily life of this city: apartments can be accessed through fingerprints; Ordered food is transported by unmanned roaming vehicles; Residents travel in driverless taxis around the city; Drone monitor the urban environment; Digital technology helps in the management and operation of the entire city in real-time; Equipped with all necessary facilities from medical to entertainment.
Innopolis Autonomous Roaming Vehicle
The scenes that previously only existed in fairy tales or science fiction novels have been realistically reproduced in Innopolis SEZ, and behind all of this, the city's technological and economic strength is indispensable. According to the CEO, Innopolis SEZ has been recognized as one of the best technology and innovation oriented economic zones in the country for four consecutive years. Currently, it has over 344 companies, including 134 household enterprises, 151 startups, and 59 partner enterprises; The total investment is 1.5 billion US dollars; 9,933 job opportunities have been created.
Focus on Cutting-edge Technology Development And Application
The initial goal of this city was to become the largest information and communication technology center in the country and even the entire region by supporting high-tech investment projects by domestic and foreign companies.
Guided by this goal, Innopolis SEZ has successfully brought together almost all major IT enterprises in the country, including Yandex, OZON, MTS, Alfabank, Tinkoff, Tatneft, Transmashholding, Magnit, X5 Group, etc., and as one of China's leading high-tech enterprises, experts from Huawei actively contribute to Innopolis SEZ.
It is understood that Innopolis SEZ is committed to cultivating high-quality experts in fields such as big data, artificial intelligence, financial technology, medical technology, telecommun ications, digital architecture, robotics, drones, microelectronics, Industry 4.0, safe urban environment, smart cities, intelligent transportation systems, etc., creating relevant employment opportunities, developing advanced projects, and providing innovative solutions.
The CEO further said that Innopolis SEZ's residential and start-up enterprises have developed over 50 solutions that can replace their foreign counterparts. These solutions have been included in the list of recommended foreign product alternatives in the fields of finance, enterprise systems, cloud computing, intelligent transportation systems, etc., including the operating system Astra Linux (developed by Astra Linux LLC) My Office (a Microsoft Office analogue developed by New Cloud Technologies LLC), Aurora (a mobile operating system developed by Open Mobile Platform LLC), and a communication technology company with IVA solutions have completely replaced Zoom.
ICL Group's electronic printed circuit board surface installation and computer equipment production factory
One of Innopolis SEZ's most important projects in 2023 is the launch of ICL Group's electronic printed circuit board surface installation and computer equipment production factory. The factory covers an area of over 8,000 square meters and was built by Innopolis SEZ to meet all the standards required for the company's production. The factory will integrate the surface mounting workshop for printed circuit boards, conveyor belts, and a new testing laboratory. The initial production capacity will reach 300,000 motherboards per year, and then increase to 1 million. The investment amount exceeds 20 million US dollars.
Entering a Stage of Accelerated Development
In recent years, Innopolis SEZ has been actively developing industrial land. In December 2022, the high-tech innovation park covering an area of 12 596 square meters with a total investment of 13 million US dollars was officially put into operation. It has a telecommunications equipment company, a robot research and production center, and other innovative enterprises. The CEO happily said, "After almost six months of production, the technology park has been fully filled, although it is planned to officially open in early 2024."
The launch of the INNOPARK project also highlights the huge demand of innovative enterprises for industrial enterprises and advanced production facilities. "Realizing this, we have made a strategic decision to enhance Innopolis SEZ's industrial and production infrastructure and promote the creation of cutting-edge employment opportunities," explained the CEO. To further achieve this goal, the project also includes the establishment of an additional industrial technology park.
InnoPark
high-tech technopark
Production of droneports in InnoPark
At the same time, Innopolis SEZ also plans to build production buildings to drive large-scale industrial projects. These new dedicated industrial zones will be located in the second production base near the Kazan Airport, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.
In addition, cloud infrastructure projects are also continuously advancing. The data processing and storage center (Innopolis Data Center), initiated by Rosenergoatom Concern JSC (joint-stock company), will become one of the largest data centers in Tatarstan and even the Volga region, meeting the high demands for technological equipment and innovation in the field of data center organization. This design solution provides up to 2,000 racks and has a high level of Tier III reliability. The first phase is planned to be put into use in early 2024. The investment amount is 87 million US dollars. "This project is not only important for Innopolis SEZ itself and for the companies that have settled in, but also for the biggest companies of Russia, as it provides the infrastructure needed for project development," said the CEO.
An Ideal Accelerator for High-tech Enterprises
Innopolis SEZ has always done its best to provide services to settled enterprises in areas such as profit, land, movable and immovable property tax incentives, innovative infrastructure guarantees, human resources and academic support from universities, as well as assistance in cutting-edge technology application and achievement transformation, to help them conduct their business more efficiently.
More and larger industrial platforms, as well as outstanding service levels and geographical conditions, will attract more and more foreign enterprises to locate here. The CEO is confident, saying: "Innopolis is 40 kilometers away from Kazan, a city with a population of one million, and only an hour's flight from Moscow." He further stated, "We offer a variety of services, such as a recruitment center, where you can quickly assemble a team of experienced experts or find ready-made technical support. Residing companies can use ready-made engineering infrastructure and may purchase land at a low price."
Industrial park of Innopolis SEZ
As an important component of the Innopolis SEZ ecosystem, Innopolis University plays a crucial role. All graduates from the school can quickly establish and expand their entrepreneurial projects. "We have a vivid and successful example - a startup project in the e-commerce industry KazanExpress that was launched in 2017 and was invested in by Alibaba Group a year and a half after its start. Last year, Magnit, the second largest Russian retailer, repurchased stocks, making this transaction one of the largest in the domestic venture capital market", the CEO proudly said.
In addition, the Republic of Tatarstan, where Innopolis SEZ is located, is known for its development potential in engineering, aviation, and petrochemical industries. Many industrial companies are located within Tatarstan, which also provide a relatively sound industrial service support for foreign enterprises and entrepreneurs entering the country.
The CEO stated, "All resident enterprises of Innopolis SEZ have the opportunity to communicate and cooperate with market participants, including Chinese partners who have already carried out major investment projects in the region."
Disclaimer: The information in this publication is provided by the interviewees. It does not reflect the editorial opinions of Forbes China.
