Servicing Silesia

The Upper Silesian Industrial Park (GPP) in Katowice has begun leasing space while it works to include some of its area in the Katowice Special Economic Zone. The park is currently under construction on an eight-ha plot formerly occupied by the Silesia Steelworks. Upon delivery, GPP will offer a production and warehousing facility (16,000 sqm), an office building (21,000 sqm) and well-developed infrastructure. The park will begin operation in mid-2009.

"Efforts to include the office building into the Special Economic Zone are ongoing," said Justyna Bartecka, head marketing specialist at GPP. The emerging industrial park is expected to attract both domestic and international investments, and to become a center of economic activity for the Silesia voivodship.

The park offers promising development opportunities. In addition to the buildings and infrastructure, investors will also be offered a whole range of business services, including: full legal services; bookkeeping and tax assistance; advisory on EU funds; as well as recruitment and HR assistance. The nearby presence of several universities also means access to modern technology and R&D.

GPP is situated close to the airports of Pyrzowice, Babice and Ostrava (in the Czech Republic) and the A1 and A4 national roads. The Silesia area also boasts a large, well educated work force and large consumer market, the latter estimated by the Central Statistical Office to total around 4.69 million people.

GPP is being developed under the "Improvement of the Competitiveness of Enterprises" Sectoral Operational Programme and is partly financed from the European Regional Development Fund.