Giving Wrocław a leg up

The Legnica Special Economic Zone (LSEZ) is located on an area of 416.7 hectares and is made up of seven sub-zones: Legnica, Legnickie Pole, Polkowice, Krzywa, Złotoryja, Lubin and Środa Śląska. The LSEZ is located to the west of Wałbrzych, where Lower Silesia's other special economic zone does business.

The geographic location is definitely the zone's advantage. The A4 motorway runs through the area, which in the future will connect Western Europe with the former Soviet Union. On the other hand, nearby National Road Number Three, which is planned to be developed into a motorway, connects Southern Europe with Scandinavia. The rapidly developing and currently expanded Wrocław airport is just 70 kilometers away from Legnica.

The LSEZ was established in 1997 to provide an alternative to the monoculture of the copper industry which dominates in the region. The management of lands devastated by the Soviet Army, which until the early 1990s had its largest base in Legnica, was also a priority, along with the efficient use of the existing infrastructure and tackling the unemployment problem. The jobless rate in the Lower Silesia voivodship, at 20.8 percent, is higher than the national average. In Legnica's surroundings, unemployment reaches nearly 29 percent.

According to LSEZ statistics, at the end of November 2005, total investment in the zone amounted to zł.2.7 billion and over 6,500 people were employed there. At the beginning of April, permission to acquire land for investment in the Krzywa sub-zone was given to Plasticos Durex Polska - a subsidiary of a Spanish producer of elastic polymers and elastometers, which will invest zł.13.5 million and employ 21 people in its new plant, due to open by the end of 2007. Another recent decision to invest in the zone came from Aksys Polska, which will produce foils and anti-acoustic material for cars and white goods in the Złotoryja sub-zone. The company will invest zł.13.1 million and employ 45 people in its plant.

Most of the investors in the Legnica SEZ come from the automotive branch. Among the companies from this industry which invested in the area are Volkswagen Motor Polska, Sitech, Gates, Voss Automotiva, Faurecia and Sanden Manufacturing. The metals industry also has a noticeable presence - four out of nine investment permits granted in 2005 were issued to companies from that segment of the economy.