Chechen leadership to insist on special economic zone

MOSCOW, July 25 (RIA Novosti) - The Chechen government plans to insist on the creation of a special economic zone in the republic, Chechen President Alu Alkhanov said.

"Special economic zones have to be created in Chechnya...We will insist on this," Alkhanov said at a press conference here.

A proposal for special economic zones will probably be included in the Treaty between Russia and the Republic of Chechnya concerning the distribution of powers.

"We insist that the Chechen Republic become a free or special economic zone. We are not speaking of off-shore financing, but of an economic zone that will enable us to attract investment," he said. "As far as the treaty is concerned, it will not be signed until parliamentary elections have been carried out."

Chechen Prime Minister Sergei Abramov said a proposal to create a special economic zone in the republic has already been prepared.

"We are proposing a special economic zone in industrial zones that we have already identified," Abramov said.

On July, the State Duma received a draft bill on special economic zones defining the legal status of special economic zones in Russia, the procedure for creating and removing their status, business activity within them and tax and customs procedures.

Special economic zones, according to the bill, are created following a decision from the Russian government, with the aim of developing manufacturing, hi-tech production, new products and the transport infrastructure. By law, two types of special economic zones can be created. An industrial zone, with an area of not more than 20 square km, and a technical zone, not larger than 2 square km.

Forbidden within a special economic zone are the extraction of natural resources, metal production, the processing of natural resources and ferrous and non-ferrous metals and the production and processing of excisable goods excluding small cars and motorcycles.