Free economic zones activate the infrastructure development of the regions of Turkmenistan
The Law on Free Economic Zones, adopted on October 9th in Turkmenistan, aims at accelerating economic growth in the country, intensifying investment and entrepreneurial activities in industry, services and technologies, deeper integration of the national economy into the world system and, as a result, increasing export potential and creating import substitution productions. The preferential legal regime concerning customs, taxation and currency regulation in free economic zones should become a factor in the development of new infrastructure for individual regions and territories, the promotion of new methods of economic management based on a market economy, modern management, the introduction of a unified system of services on the principle of a "single window" and creating new jobs. These can be free trade zones and export zones, industrial parks, technoparks and technopolises, service areas specializing in providing financial, credit, banking, tourist-recreational, information services, as well as transport-logistic and port, agro-industrial or complex, combining in functions of various functional types of FEZ. Their participants can be legal entities of both Turkmenistan and other states, individual entrepreneurs. In relation to participants in the free economic zone, a 10-year grace period for levying land rent is applied. That is, they are exempt from rent for land for 3 years from the date of the contract. In the next 7 years it is charged to the amount equal to 50 percent of the rate. At the end of this period, the rest is to be paid in full. On the territory of the free economic zone there is a regime of free pricing for all types of goods (works, services) produced and parallel circulation of national and foreign currency At the same time, the state is guaranteed protection of investments, stability of conditions for conducting business activity on its territory, observance of rights and legitimate interests.
