The development of territorial cluster zones was discussed during the session of Delovaya Rossiya's Chemical Industry Committee.  The session was organized as part of the 26^th International exhibition of the packaging industry RosUpack-2022.

During the discussion the representatives of the chemical industry noted that the current economic situation created additional opportunities to develop the industry. 

 "Today we receive support from ministries almost nonstop. It is very important that enterprises do not just hear, but work together with us to solve urgent issues. What does the chemical industry need today? We need our own technologies. It is also important for us not to remove from the agenda the issues of environmental effect when creating new facilities," a member of the Coordinating Council and Chairman of Delovaya Rossiya's Chemical Industry Committee Mikhail Sutyaginsky said.

The cooperation of industries in certain territories - in special economic zones and industrial technoparks - opens up prospects for development. On the territory of such clusters it is proposed to create engineering centers, as well as to support the development of science in general.

"Our scientific and technical centers and institutes, using their potential and technological capabilities, should develop those areas that will allow the industry to significantly reduce the cost of production. We are currently carrying out such work with two research institutes with the support of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade," Mikhail Sutyaginsky added.

By uniting with each other in special economic zones and technoparks, enterprises can agree within a joint site, use the same infrastructure and thereby increase the economic effect of production. Building production chains also requires interaction between regions.

"Now models of regional development are being prepared, they are still at the stage of calculations and elaboration. Perhaps thanks to these models we will be able to see the potential of each region. Thanks to these tools, business will have a better understanding of the specifics of a particular region and its potential," an expert of Delovaya Rossiya's Chemical Industry Committee and deputy head of the Spatial Development area of the Center for Strategic Research Olga Torbich said.

In addition, representatives of the committee noted the importance of implementation of import-substituting projects. Thus, the representative of Titan Group of Companies spoke about participation in the development of a comprehensive scientific and technical program, which was approved by the government.

"This program will be developed by the academic and university community as part of the Group's activities. We are talking about a number of catalysts that go to replace the existing foreign ones. This is import substitution, a significant breakthrough towards the implementation and development of Russian technologies." Alexander Orlov, head of the Moscow office of Titan Group, added.

Experts see subsidizing projects in key areas of industry as one of the important ways of state support. Reduced interest rates for investment projects and additional benefits are more necessary than ever.

"The state must understand that there are three areas without which we cannot succeed: the defense industry, pharmaceuticals, and food. It is necessary to subsidize production in these areas. If the cost of the product is high, the missing amount should be covered by the state," concluded Victor Ivanov, president of the Russian Union of Chemists.

The discussion was also attended by: First Vice President of the Russian Union of Chemists Maria Ivanova, General Director of the Association "Roskhimreaktiv" Irina Vendilo, Director of the FSBI science of the Order of the Red Banner of Labor Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis named after A. Topchiev of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INSH RAS) Anton Maksimov, Managing Director of JSC "Institute of Plastics" Tatiana Andreeva.

As a result of the meeting a list of proposals for the development of the chemical industry will be formed and sent to the relevant ministries.

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