Hydrogen Power Plant worth 500 bn rub to become a resident of new SEZ in Mendeleevsk District
Ammonia-2 fertiliser plant will also be built at the site, with construction scheduled to begin in 2026
The Mendeleevsk District in Tatarstan is actively working on establishing a new special economic zone, with plans for key anchor residents to include a hydrogen-producing NPP (AETS) and the Ammonia-2 project. This was announced by district head Radmir Belyaev during the Municipal Hour project at the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency (TIDA). However, the main request he addressed to the agency's head, Taliya Minullina, was assistance in attracting an investor to the local rural area. “We’ve done the calculations — we can easily support 6,000 to 7,000 head of cattle with feed,” Belyaev assured. Read more in Realnoe Vremya's report.
“I chose Radmir Ildarovich specifically because I knew he would support any initiative”
It will soon be a year since the Investment Development Agency of Tatarstan introduces market players to the investment potential of the republic's districts within the framework of the Municipal Hour project. The first such meeting was held on August 2 last year. At that time, the head of the Mendeleevsky district, Radmir Belyaev, was a guest of the TIDA.
“When you start some obscure business like our Municipal Hour project, you always call friends who can support your unexpected ideas. I made the first call to Radmir Ildarovich. I say, “There is such an idea...” I just randomly chose Radmir Ildarovich out of all the chapters, because I knew that he would support any interesting innovative initiatives," Taliya Minullina, the head of the TIDA, recalled on 15 April.
This time, Radmir Belyaev became the first head who came to the Municipal Hour again. Before giving him the floor, Taliya Minnullina emphasised: I would like to understand whether the real impact of the project on the investment climate is felt. In response, Radmir Belyaev assured that after the Municipal Hour there were “real calls, real interest from entrepreneurs.”
Construction of Ammonia-2 begins in 2026
Belyaev started talking about concrete results for the year with the news about Ammonia-2. According to him, the design of the ammonia and carbamide production complex has already been almost completed. “It is estimated at about 200 billion rubles, and the number of new jobs is about 500. We have a construction start plan for 2026," said the head of the Mendeleevsky district.
According to his presentation, the average annual revenue of the enterprise will amount to 60 billion rubles. 1.2 million tonnes of ammonia and 1.7 million tonnes of carbamide will be produced here per year.
“For Ammonia-2 and for new projects in general, we have changed the general plan of our city, [and] Tatarsko-Chelny rural settlement. Right now, we have the PZZ (rules of land use and development — editor's note) coming out. And we are creating the Alabuga-Mendeleevsk economic zone with all the necessary preferences," he stressed.
Potential residents are already actively invited to the 900-hectare area. “We are currently approving the PZZ and are already sending the documents to the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia to obtain the status of a special economic zone," said the head of the district.
The two anchor residents will be Ammonia-2 and the Atomic Energy Technology Plant (AETS) for the production of hydrogen, which is being worked on with Rosatom. “The estimated investment volume is 500 billion rubles, but it's too early to disclose any details today," Radmir Belyaev cautiously said. Another investment project, electrolysis production, is under implementation at the chemical plant named after Karpov, the construction of which was supervised by Dmitry Mendeleev.
“There are no questions about investments, but it's not easy with people”
The occupancy rate of the Mendeleevsk 2.0 industrial park reaches 95% — there is one vacant site left, which is already claimed by a couple of companies. So the district hopes that in the near future it will be discussed about its expansion. “We will put this project on its feet and we will apply for the construction of the second stage of the Mendeleevsk 2.0 industrial park," Belyaev promised.
In addition, in October last year, the private industrial park Bondyuzhsky was opened in Mendeleevsk. Its occupancy rate is 100% today. Last year, private investments amounted to 94 million rubles. “It may not be such great [indicators], but it's nice that the old [site] turned out to be an industrial park. Three residents are actively working," said the head of the district.
Last year, 18 companies were residents of the Mendeleevsk PSEDA — however, three of them “failed," the head complained. According to the plans for 2025, the number of residents should grow to 24, and jobs to 590. The volume of investments is going to be increased to 4.3 billion rubles, and capital investments — up to 4 billion.
“It is very difficult with jobs today, it is a difficult indicator to fulfill,” the speaker admitted. “There are no questions about investments, but we all know the situation with people, it's not easy.”
However, thanks to Ammonia-2, Mendeleevsk plans to “attract” 2,000 people, including workers and their family members. There are practically no apartments for free sale, so the city is interested in housing construction.
“Last year, I could not so confidently declare this, because if I am not sure that an investor will make a profit, I will never invite him, on the contrary, I dissuade him. I am sure that commercial housing can be built here. There are three or four investors who show interest. Commercial housing will be in demand. We are ready to consider potential investors on a large scale," Radmir Belyaev assured.
According to him, there are also people interested in purchasing housing among Mendeleev residents: “The quality of life is growing, and sometimes you want to live [in conditions of] comfort+.”
“The most important request is to attract an investor in the village”
“I thought the main thing was to ask the agency [for the Municipal Hour]. The most important request is to attract an investor in the village," the head of the Mendeleevsky district addressed Minullina. “We have a wonderful 6,000 hectares of land, which today are not being cultivated as efficiently as we would like. <...> We have everything to attract livestock farms. We calculated that we would provide 6-7 thousand cattle with a fodder base without any questions.”
The volume of gross agricultural products in 2024 in the region amounted to 1.06 billion rubles (+0.5% by 2023). By 2026, it is planned to increase to 1.5 billion rubles.
Another ambitious project of the city on the Kama River is the launch of its own brand of fish products. The first stage involves the creation of a fish processing plant. “Both smoked and salted — 80 nomenclatures," Belyaev said about the project. At the second stage, it is planned to create an entire eco-agropark, which will offer fishing, glamping, and other destinations.