Wałbrzych SEZ bursting at the seams

Michał Pakulniewicz: What incentives does the WSEZ offer investors?

Mieczysław Greber: Entrepreneurs investing in the WSEZ can obtain public aid based on a new investment's costs or based on the creation of new work places. For new investments, entrepreneurs might gain aid amounting to 50 percent of costs qualifying for inclusion in the public subsidy scheme (40 percent in the case of the Wrocław sub-zone). The condition is that the entrepreneur has to run the business for at least five years with a minimum investment value of EUR 100,000 [zł.397,000].

In the case of the public subsidy for creating new workplaces, it amounts to up to 50 percent of the costs for two years for newly hired employees (40 percent in the case of the Wrocław sub-zone). This is based upon the condition that the newly created workplaces will be maintained for five years. In the case of small- or medium-sized enterprises, the public subsidy is increased from 50 percent to 65 percent (or from 40 to 55 percent in the case of the Wrocław sub-zone) of the investment costs for two years for newly hired employees.

The economic zone is located in a region that has suffered from high unemployment. What were the origins of the WSEZ Invest-Park?

For one hundred years, the region where the zone has been established was connected with the textile and mining industries. The liquidation of the coal mines that started at the beginning of the 1990s had a negative influence on other plants, including the mechanical, electrical engineering and other services that catered for the needs of the local mining industry. As a result of that, there was a rapid increase in unemployment.

One of the solutions to the problem, which aimed to boost economic growth in the region, was the establishment of the Wałbrzych Special Economic Zone in 1997. The task of the company is to promote investment within the zone and to develop the zone by means of administration of the property, development of infrastructure and services for investors. At the beginning it occupied 255 hectares in four sub-zones: Wałbrzych, Dzierżoniów, Nowa Ruda and Kłodzko. Today it consists of 15 sub-zones and employs over 18,000 people.

What prospects do you see for the WSEZ?

WSEZ Invest-Park is one of the fastest-growing economic zones in Poland. Because of a large demand on the investors' part, there is a growing need to expand the zone.

Starting from 2004 new regulations came into force enabling the establishment of sub-zones of the WSEZ in areas so far not included in the zone. The condition is realization of a new investment with a value of at least EUR 40 [zł.159] million or creation of at least 500 new workplaces. Electrolux, Whirlpool and Wabco, among others, have taken advantage of the new regulation.

Apart from this, the zone will undertake actions aimed at finding new investors, investing in infrastructure in the zone and looking for new sources of income for the company, for example, by buying real-estate property located outside the zone for commercial use.

What prospects do you see for Lower Silesia? What are the region's advantages in comparison to other voivodships in Poland?

The region has a favorable geographic location, bordering both the Czech Republic and Germany. Its attractiveness is increased by good transport infrastructure - both the road system and railways, plus the modernized A4 motorway. The region's airport in Wrocław offers airline connections, both domestic and international. An important factor from the point of view of investment effectiveness is that labor costs in the region are many times lower than in other European states, as well as relatively lower than in other parts of Poland.

Interviewed by
Michał Pakulniewicz