The State Duma adopted in the second and third readings a law providing a legal basis for setting up and operating international territories of advanced development in the Far East. The law is to create favorable conditions for international cooperation and encouraging industrial activities. The new law will come into force on January 1, 2026.

Such territories will be established by a Government decision or on the basis of international agreements in one or several municipal entities within one region in the Far Eastern Federal District. The territory’s total area will not exceed 20 square kilometers.

Its residents will be new Russian legal entities, including those involving foreign individuals and entities, which are registered in the territory, have entered into an agreement on operating there and have been entered in the list of such residents. Such persons are guaranteed non-deterioration of their operating conditions for 15 years starting from their entering in the list of residents of any priority development territory. This rule will only apply to those who entered into such agreement after the law became effective.

Investment projects of the priority development territory residents should provide for capital investments amounting to at least 500 million rubles and output of products with high added value or performance of works or rendering of services to be determined by the Russian Government. Each project will have to be approved by the presidium of the government commission on the socio-economic development of the Far East and the information on the approval of a project with investments exceeding 10 billion rubles will have to be sent by the territory management company to the Finance Ministry.