Donetsk, Dec 7 — DAN. Fifty enterprises in the new regions have become Free Economic Zone participants in less than six months, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on Thursday.

“The most favorable conditions have been created for FEZ participants, to enable them to effectively realize their potential and contribute to the relaunching of the economy of the new regions, ” the government press service quoted Khusnullin as saying. “The first 50 FEZ residents are large enterprises in the mining, machine-building, steel-making, food and construction industries as well as chain stores.”

There is also an important social effect: some 3,000 new jobs will be created. Overall, some 38,000 people will be involved in the implementation of investment projects, he said. 

The Stakhanov rail car parts producer in the Lugansk People’s Republic became a benchmark FEZ participant. The sum of investments declared by FEZ companies in the new regions reaches about 32 billion rubles, Khusnullin said.

A free custom zone is the custom procedure applied in the Free Economic Zone where registered participants enjoy incentives in paying taxes, custom duties, anti-dumping duties etc. FEZ residents are registered legal entities and self-employed business people who engage in economic activity in the FEZ.*jk