Lotos Jasło joins Tarnobrzeg SEZ

Lotos Jasło, a member of the Lotos Group, will invest zł.32 million in a new roofing-paper plant in Jasło in conjunction with Lotos Asfalt. The investment is expected to create around 105 jobs and production is expected to begin in March 2008. The plant's output will be targeted mainly at the construction industry, though the firm declined to reveal further details.

In mid-December, the 10.3-ha site which hosts both Lotos Jasło and the Lotos Industrial Park in Jasło was included into the Tarnobrzeg Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The first investment to be realized within the new area of the Tarnobrzeg SEZ will be the construction of the new roofing-paper plant.

"This means of expanding SEZs came about after it had occurred that they did not have enough free plots or that those available did not meet investors' needs," said Joanna Sztefko, a manager in grants and incentives advisory services at Ernst & Young.

The new investment represents a reorientation of Lotos Jasło's activity. Until recently the firm produced refined petroleum products. A tax relief for firms in this sector has been cancelled, however, leading Lotos Jasło to change its profile and suspend production at its present production plant. The inclusion of the firm into the Tarnobrzeg SEZ will help the company to realign its business model, thanks to the aid available to SEZ occupants.

"This is an important decision and it means the outlook for our company is good," said Zdzisław Nisztor, the president of Lotos Jasło. "Because of the cancelling of [the tax relief] we had to change our activity. And these changes are starting to bring about positive effects. However, this is only the start of the good news about new investments by Lotos Jasło," he added.

Anna Kalembasiak