Chinese set sights on Szczecin lake
The project will include apartments, a yacht harbor and entertainment facilities and will transform an area along Lake Dšbie. It will cost between EUR 500,000 and EUR 1 billion (zł.1.98-3.97 billion).
Tian Yu was established as a daughter company to Ming Hoong Development Co PTE Ltd solely for the Szczecin development. In addition to high apartment buildings, a yacht harbor and sports facilities, the Chinese firm will complete the surrounding road infrastructure and link it in with Szczecin's road network.
According to Szczecin local authorities, the Asian investor might also build council flats in the city. This kind of project could be developed as a public-private investment, but is subject to further negotiation.
"Because Szczecin, just like many of Poland's other cities, suffers a lack of council flats, we could be interested in such an additional investment," says Zbigniew Zalewski, the vice-president of Szczecin.
A letter of intent has already been signed between the Asian investor and Szczecin's authorities and within the next few months the details of the business agreement will be discussed.
"The Chinese investor informed us that construction works will take up to seven or eight years, if all the areas provided for this development have a clear record of ownership," adds Zalewski. "We might pass them around 50 ha under the deal, so at the beginning we have to come to an agreement with some tenants."
This is not Ming Hoong Development's first foray onto the Polish market. It already has a number of investments in Sopot and Warsaw. In recent years Chinese companies have stepped up their investments in Poland, and it is now Poland's biggest trade partner in Asia. The value of business between the countries reached $6 (zł.19) billion in 2005, according to the Central Statistical Office.
"Poland's accession to the EU was very conducive for Chinese investors because they gained easy access to Western European markets," says Małgorzata Wejtko, director of the economic promotion department of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency.
