Thursday, March 28

Tajikistan is starting to create technoparks. The agency “Khovar” talks about what an IT park is, why it is needed and how much its construction costs

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Information has leaked to the media that Russia will open technoparks and branches of its technoparks on the territory of Tajikistan. This, in particular, was announced the day before by the head of the Federation Council Committee of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Science, Education and Culture Lilia Gumerova in an interview with the TV channel “Together-RF”.

“A very interesting, in our opinion, popular idea is the creation of joint technology parks,” she said. She also reported on a proposal to open branches of Russian technoparks in Tajikistan.

As the senator added, young people interested in Tajik-Russian scientific and technical projects can ensure the technological sovereignty of the two states with their work.

It should be noted that many countries have experience in creating joint technology parks (or IT parks). For example, the same Russia and China. On the Russian territory, the Russian-Chinese technopark (RCT) Druzhba was established in Moscow, on the Chinese territory there are Chinese-Russian technoparks in Changchun (Jilin Province), in Quhua (Zhejiang Province), in Harbin (Heilongjiang Province), in Shenyang (Liaoning Province), in Yantai (Shandong Province).

In Russia itself, in Moscow and more than 60 regions of the country, more than 300 technoparks are operating today. About 35 technoparks and technopolises are located in Moscow alone (data from the investment portal). The most famous of them is Skolkovo.

What is a technopark and what is it for?

Technopark (or IT park) is a territorial, scientific, technological and technical base for the implementation of innovative projects. This is a complex that combines research institutes, business centers, industrial facilities, exhibition grounds, as well as service facilities: means of transport, access roads, residential settlements, security. This is a territory of opportunities and integration of production, science, education and high technologies. In the technopark, talented people will be able to turn their ideas into real projects.

Technoparks prepare both new technologies and personnel for corporations at the same time, and can also be used for the development of specific industries and the fight against “personnel hunger”. Among the mechanisms used for this purpose are grants, tax incentives and inexpensive rental of premises.

The key function of the technopark is the concentration of small innovative companies in a single complex. In such a situation, synergy can be achieved through the placement of collective use equipment, certification centers, engineering, prototyping, export support and other elements of interest to various residents. In addition, an important factor is the atmosphere of the technopark itself, the active communication of its residents, even those who do not have direct cooperative ties with each other.

Accordingly, the key task of the management company is to create such a creative environment and fill the technopark with service functions. And then the object becomes really in demand from the innovative business. This means that there is an active filling of its areas with target residents-tenants, the expert notes.

What is the difference between an IT park and a SEZ

Tajikistan has now created 5 free economic zones. These are SEZ “Sugd”, SEZ “Kulyab”, SEZ “Dangara”, SEZ “Panj”, SEZ “Ishkashim”.

In March 2011, Tajikistan adopted the Law “On Free Economic Zones”. It says: “A free economic zone is a separate (limited) section of the territory of the Republic of Tajikistan with precisely defined borders, on which preferential economic conditions and a special legal regime are created for the implementation of entrepreneurial and investment activities.”

A simplified regime of entry, exit and stay, determined by the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, is applied for foreign citizens and stateless persons who carry out activities or work for hire in the free economic zone.

That is, free economic zones are zones with a special legal and economic status, which creates favorable conditions for attracting foreign investment based on the provision of benefits. Technopark does not provide preferences for residents in the form of tax, customs and other benefits.

FEZs can be created on the border with another country or even in a neutral zone. This is doubly convenient if, for example, a resident needs expensive equipment for work — it can be imported into the zone without customs clearance. It is clear that exemption from customs duties for enterprises means a reduction in the payback period.

That is, the FEZ is a much deeper and global idea compared to the technopark.

What are the advantages of technoparks?

Technoparks can be created not only in large cities, but also in small towns and districts. The key factor here is the availability of scientific and technical potential and/or demand for applied developments. Therefore, technoparks may well function in science cities or in settlements where large high-tech industries are located (including in single-industry towns). Another thing is that in such cases, the scale of the technopark is likely to be noticeably smaller than in a large city, but its efficiency may even be higher.

As for the benefits for residents of the city or district where the technopark is located, these are additional highly qualified jobs and tax revenues, expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation, improving the image of the city (district) and keeping promising young people from labor migration.

Thus, if we consider the programs of FEZ and technoparks from the point of view of total costs and job creation, the efficiency of the construction of technoparks turned out to be much higher than the program for the creation of FEZ.

How much money does it take to create a technopark?

As for investing in such projects, their amount may have a rather large discrepancy. First of all, the volume of financial investments is determined by three factors: the first is the scale of the technopark itself; the second is the creation of a technopark from scratch (construction of new buildings) or existing facilities are used for it; the third is the equipment that will be placed on the territory of the park.

The most typical range of necessary investments, according to a rough calculation, is from 7 million to 70 million somoni (respectively – from 687 thousand to 6.5 million US dollars).

The first technopark in Tajikistan

The first technopark in Tajikistan is likely to be the State Unitary Enterprise “Smart City” under construction in Dushanbe with the support of the capital’s authorities. The main goal of the project is to contribute to the accelerated development of the IT industry in the country.

NIAT “Khovar” wrote about this project, it was noted that the authorities will assist start-ups and small IT enterprises in commercializing the results of innovative activities. It is planned to train the population and young people in the technopark in order to form a modern class of highly qualified specialists. For this purpose, master classes, trainings and advanced training courses are organized, as well as scientific and practical conferences and seminars with the involvement of leading companies and specialists. For the joint implementation of the project, domestic and foreign investors will be attracted.

In addition, on November 1 of this year, the President of the country, Leader of the Nation Emomali Rahmon, within the framework of a working trip to the Panj district of Khatlon region, launched the construction of an innovative technology park. With the involvement of businessmen and other sources of financing, it is planned to build 9 enterprises here that will produce flour and butter, napkins, soft drinks, confectionery and pasta, building materials, food, household items, and process fruits and vegetables.

The technopark will be built on an area of 3 hectares, where new workshops and factories will also be built in the future to implement the country’s fourth strategic goal – accelerated industrialization of the republic. After the complete completion of the enterprises under construction, over two hundred new jobs will be created.

The Head of State was informed that the goods of the workshops and enterprises under construction are import-substituting and will meet the needs of the local market. In this context, it was emphasized that by the 35th anniversary of the State Independence of the Republic of Tajikistan, such technoparks will be created in thirty cities and districts of Tajikistan, as a result of which the number of production workshops and institutions will increase several times.

And where did the world’s first technoparks originate

The history of technoparks originates in the USA at Stanford University. After the Second World War, the university had difficulties with financing, which rent helped to solve. The university owned a large plot of land, but could not sell it. Then the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Professor Frederick Terman offered the management to lease the land for a long-term lease as an office park. Moreover, only high-tech companies could act as tenants of the park. Thus, the university began to receive income, and its graduates could find a job in the park.

Now this place is called Stanford Research Park, it employs more than 200 companies, it has a developed transport infrastructure, and it can be reached on foot from the center of the Stanford University campus. 20 years ago, VMware rented a tiny office with an area of less than 50 square meters, and now it employs more than 50,000 people.

Later, Professor Terman’s idea became the beginning of Silicon Valley (The Father of Silicon Valley). Today, the residents of Silicon Valley are global giant companies such as Apple, Intel, Hewlett – Packard, General Electric, Google and many others.

Currently, there are about 2,500 technoparks in the world, of which about 300 units operate in the United States, more than 600 in the European Union, about 110 in Japan, and more than 80 in China. They are the most important element of the innovation ecosystem, form the growth points of regional economies, allowing small and medium-sized high-tech companies to reduce the costs of doing business and develop rapidly.

Conclusion

 

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