‘Minnikhanov called and asked — what is the smell? We answer — our own!’

“Zainsk is not a single-industry town like Naberezhnye Chelny or Chistopol. We do not have a PSEDA or SEZ. And we increase productivity at the expense of internal reserves," the head of the Zainsky district, Razif Karimov, boasted his labour successes that day, who for the first time came to the site of the Municipal Hour to the head of the Investment Development Agency, Talia Minullina. This format involves acquaintance with all the heads of municipal districts. It seems that the business community not only evaluates the investment potential of a particular area, but also closely studies the character and disposition of the “owner of the land”.

Meetings usually take place at the end of the working week, but this Friday is the celebration of Republic Day. Therefore, the heads of the South-East of Tatarstan were invited to Kazan in the middle of the week. “After the first meetings — in Mendeleevsky and Alekseevsky districts — new investors appeared, which means that the site is working," Taliya Minullina encouraged the guests.

However, the head of Zainsk, Razif Karimov, had nothing much to offer investors. Almost the entire territory of the district is heavily “loaded”. The production facilities of Agrosila and Technonicol Group of Companies operate smoothly, Tatneft and small oil companies produce, whose share in total is 6% of the republican oil production, the head of the district listed.

In the rating of socio-economic development, Zainsky district is the 10th with a gross territorial product of 72 billion rubles by the results of 2023. But he is going to rise higher and is trying to oust the leaders. “This year [according to the pace of economic development] we have already overtaken Zelenodolsk and reached the 6th place," the head of the municipality made it clear that he was confident in his abilities. According to the results of June-July, the industrial production index amounted to 106.8% and 107.2%, respectively. The average salary is about 63,000 rubles. The total revenue for the first half of the year amounted to 29.5 billion, which brought the district to the seventh place, Karimov said. With such dynamics, the district is going to finish the year with revenue of 74 billion rubles and gain a foothold at the occupied height.

Zainsk is located between Nizhnekamsk and Almetyevsk, but the closest production ties have developed with oilers rather than with petrochemists. In the structure of the territorial product, industry accounts for 67%, energy — for 21%, and agriculture — for 13%. Technonicol produced 1.2 million cubic metres of products, the Accuride Wheels Russia company (formerly a structural division of Accuride Wheels Europe and Asia) produced 1.7 million pieces of wheels (by 79% more), but postponed plans for modernisation. “A huge investment package worth 7 billion rubles has been postponed until better times. But we have contact with our comrades, we hold meetings," the head of the district assured.

Zainsky Sugar is breaking records. This year, the company is going to process 1.35 million tonnes of sugar beet and get 8,500 tonnes of sugar.

“And how many people work? 600? So, the output per employee is 1.2 million rubles?" Talia Minullina admired.

“Even more at Technonicol. There, 19 million rubles per employee. I used to be surprised that 6.5 million, I thought: the ceiling, but what miracles efficiency does," Karimov replied.

But most of all, he cares about the environment. “We used to have odours," he recalled. “The stone was melted, still the odour is coming. Minnikhanov called and asked — what is the smell? They are discussing it on social networks. All the smells are our own, we are working on it," we laughed. According to him, the investor has allocated 170 million rubles for the purchase of equipment for firing stone in a higher temperature regime. As a result, the smells disappeared.

A large environmental project is being prepared by Zainsky Sugar JSC (part of the Agrosila holding). Its essence is to stop the discharge of untreated water, which is formed after processing raw beetroot during its processing. “Anyway, the sugar is washed off, the waste process water accumulates in the filtration fields. Of course, sweet water starts to ferment," the speaker explained. Instead, the processor is going to introduce the technology of “semi-dry” beet processing, which will reduce the ingress of sweet industrial water into the filtration fields by 50 times and eliminate the environmental problem. The cost of the project is estimated at 1,5 billion rubles.

The design works have been completed, and an examination is underway. Zainsky Sugar will fully switch to the new beet preparation technology within two to three years. “When the first president of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, came to visit us, he compared our nature with “little Switzerland” (there is the Zainskoe reservoir, forest nearby — author's note). Since then, every investor remembers this," Razif Karimov, the head of the Zainsky district, explained how he persuades private investors to invest in the environment.

Nevertheless, the Zainsky district has managed to become a preferential territory. At the end of this year, the Zelenaya Dolina SEZ opens there — the second industrial-type zone in Tatarstan, the head of the municipality said. According to him, it will house six plants, including Tatneft. The Zelenaya Dolina SEZ is included in the register of the Ministry of Economic Development, its residents receive tax benefits as residents of the Alabuga SEZ. Investments in its creation amounted to 14 billion rubles, of which 2.7 billion were for engineering infrastructure. In addition, an industrial park was built here, but even that is occupied. One niche turned out to be free — the construction of multi-apartment housing.

The Zainsky district may become attractive in this sense after the launch of the Alekseevskoye — Bavly toll road and a bypass around Nizhnekamsk and Naberezhnye Chelny, said Maxim Vikulin, the first deputy director of the Institute of Spatial Planning of the Republic of Tatarstan State Budgetary Institution. But there is a risk that migration to these industrial areas will increase. Now about 2,000 people leave Zainsk for work, with a total number of 54,000. In his opinion, enterprises will have to raise wages in order to keep the working-age population.

Another point of growth will be an increase in the volume of generation at the Zainskaya GRES. According to Karimov, in September this year Tatenergo is to participate in a power selection competition with a project to modernise the GRES. “It's a very good project, and the money is good: I will say that 100 MW will cost about 10 billion rubles. We are putting forward a project of up to 1,000. MW — consider what investments," said the head of the municipality, adding that the project of modernisation of the GRES “must definitely win the competition”.

In conclusion, he spoke about the idea of updating the embankment of the Zainsky reservoir. “If there is an investor, please. What are the conditions? They haven't come up with it yet," Razif Karimov said with a smile in a conversation with journalists.