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Interview: Mr. Adam Jarubas Marshall of Świętokrzyskie Voivodship, Poland!

By Amarendra Bhushan for CEOWORLD Magazine Updated:March 6, 2009

Mr. Adam Jarubas Marshall of Świętokrzyskie Voivodship, Poland

By: editor
Ceoworld.biz
The following Interview is brought to you by ceoworld.biz.

ceoworld.biz: Which of the markets do you consider to be a target in the economic promotion?

Mr Adam Jarubas: I should start with mentioning some potentials deciding about the outstanding position of Świętokrzyskie on the Polish map. With no doubt what the experience resulting from the fact that Świętokrzyskie had been a building area for a long time in the past has a significant meaning. It is enough just to mention the Exbud company, which was located here and has fulfilled many foreign contracts. This economic heritage is still functioning as a transformed Exbud Skanska, taking advantage of the staff educated during those times.

We can not forget about the rich mineral deposits. In Świętokrzyskie there is 100%of Polish plaster stone and 42 per cent of lime resources. The region produces more than 34% of Polish cement. This high share in the domestic production shows the strong position of the Voivodeship. Furthermore, Świętokrzyskie produces 100% of Polish brimstone and 26% of mineral aggregate, used for production of road groundwork in communication investments. The region is therefore rich with resources needed for this sort of economic undertakings.

Industrial and metallurgic traditions, originating from the Central Industrial District, are concentrated around cities in the northern part of the voivodeship, upon the Kamienna river. These are Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Skarżysko Kamienna, Starachowice or to some extent Końskie. These centers show that the industrial potential of the region is still significant. The restructured Celsa foundry, run by the Spanish investors, employs over 1,5 thousand people and the same number cooperating, which makes it the biggest employer in Świętokrzyskie.

Apart from building and industrial issues Świętokrzyskie is also an agricultural region, in relation to its natural and soil conditions. Its southeast part is dominated by farms, although they are still relatively weakly organized. By now we have only 10 certified production groups, the farmers have to realize that only in an organized form they will be able to achieve better prices and raise the quality of

production. It is a constant process, in which the marshal authorities are engaged by certifying the agricultural production groups. In the southeastern part of the voivodeship we have strong health resort potentials – Busko Zdrój and Solec Zdrój are the strongest sulfur water deposits in Europe and rapidly developing sanatoria. Solec Zdroj is also an example of a SPA center and a development of the agricultural tourism base.

The Świętokrzyskie Mountains is the area of potential development in the context of natural potentials, but also the rich cultural heritage. The oldest mountains in Europe are located between four big agglomerations. In fact, there is a distance of about 100km from Kielce to Cracow, Rzeszów, Lublin and Łódz, a bit more to Warsaw. The important issue about the region is the central location, which can be perfectly used in various fields, especially in tourism.

ceoworld.biz: The central geographical location is surely an advantage of the region. However, the communications infrastructure of the voivodeship is still not optimally developed. What actions are taken in order to reach an improvement within this issue?

Mr Adam Jarubas: We are aware that historically we have been somehow excluded from the main transport corridors of Poland and today we pay the price for it. At present there are infrastructural investments planned with use of the EU funds. These projects’ purpose is to bring back the region to the economic circulation of Poland, because it is communication what decides about the investing attractiveness indeed. The express road from Warsaw through Kielce to Cracow, as well as the express road no. 74 from Piotrków Trybunalski through Kielce towards Rzeszów and Lublin are two crossing arteries which incorporate us with the communication net and level the mentioned communicational exclusion effect.

We are also working at the Obice airport project all the time. It will be located near Kielce. It is a large project, we are aware of its complexity. We are trying to engage a private entrepreneur. The airport is already included in the newly accepted land development plans, there has been bought an area of 400ha for this investment. We hope that this investment will start growing soon.

It is a very attractive terrain, we would like to turn it into a sort of an industrial area. We are aware that in highly developed states the airports are places which draw intensive cooperation of companies. We also plan to settle a cargo airport there, which is corresponding with transport companies requirements.

The Operational Program ‘Development of Eastern Poland’ stipulates a large project of building a passage of Vistula between Połaniec and Mielec. The project will be carried out together with Podkarpackie Voivodeship, because 2/3 of the roads leading to the passage is located on the side of the neighboring voivodeship. Such an investment would open our region towards Ukraine, creating good conditions for the economic cooperation between Mielec and Połaniec. There are also plans to build a bridge in the direction of Małopolska in Nowy Korczyn. Surely those investments will raise status and attractiveness of the region in the prospect of 3 – 4 years.

ceoworld.biz: How would you describe the demographic potential of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship?

Mr Adam Jarubas: In case of demography the situation is a bit difficult, as we are starting from the end of the table. The changes within this case are to be counted in years and we cannot hope for any revolutions, there will be no sudden changes in the population number. First of all, we want to improve the scientific potential of the region. The two of our public universities are running two big projects within the EU Development of Eastern Poland program in order to strengthen their educational basis. The Technical University of Swietokrzyskie in Kielce has already signed an agreement with the Polish Agency of Enterprise Development for the cooperation within building of laboratories and didactic rooms, which will make studies more attractive and will help to encourage students not only from Kielce to come and study in the capital of Świętokrzyskie. The Swiętokrzyska Academy has been transformed into a University, but it is not only a nominal change. We know that raising the quality of education will lead to an increased status and reputation of studies in Kielce. It will also help to overcome the negative stereotype that studying here means an ‘exile’ for those who failed to be admitted to universities in Cracow or Lublin. So far we had observed educating people for pedagogical, humanistic and management purposes, as these are the most popular specializations now. Keeping in mind the challenges of modern times, we should be determined to raise the quality of technical education. That is why the Technical University’s priority is to increase the number of students – meanwhile it is the smallest Polish technical university. This plan is combined with the human resources development strategy and we hope that the companies settling in our region will get access to highly qualified staff. The migration balance is negative, however this trend is dominating in whole Poland.

The demographic situation should be improving along with new investments and growing demand for staff. What can be of crucial meaning is the newly created technologic parks, a sort of business incubators – Kielecki Business Incubator and the technologic park located in Podzamcze Chęcińskie, project carried out together with the Kielce District, both public universities, the

Regional Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer and the Staropolska Chamber of Industry and Commerce. These will be places, where entrepreneurs will get an opportunity to open new plants cheaply, in the neighborhood of advantageous infrastructure. We hope that the unfavorable migration tendency can be stopped or even reversed.

ceoworld.biz: Can the entrepreneurs count on business workshops and training programs within the offer of those technologic parks?

Mr Adam Jarubas: They will be able to take advantage of scientific researches in the laboratories of the Regional Centre for Technology Development. We want to encourage the scientists to closer cooperation. Meanwhile it is a difficult issue – e. g. if you want to apply for a patent, you have to go to Poznań, ask a professor for help with formal issues and sometimes wait even months for his support. And yet we have here the scientific staff, qualified highly enough, who could earn extra by taking part in such projects. We, as the Marshal’s Office, would like to initiate the activity of such an institution and then to withdraw gradually, allowing for its autonomic development, just as it is in the West. So along with incubators, which are a cheap way to start an economic activity, there will be laboratories, allowing to create modern solutions, giving an opportunity for patenting a large amount of new devices and innovations.

ceoworld.biz: In which of the regional economic branches could this modern technical thought be used?

Mr Adam Jarubas: We would like to engage in several particular branches. Without a doubt, considering the local potentials, this could be the building industry, but also renewable energy, because of agricultural resources. We are interested in modern computer technologies.

The priority of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship Board is on the other hand the Swietokrzyskie Oncology Centre, which is today an important medical centre, the third in Poland to have a positron emission scanner, allowing detecting neoplastic changes at the molecular level. The Oncology Centre cooperates very tightly with the Institute of Physics of the Świętokrzyski University. This creates the environment for discussion

about modern trends in medicine, but also about health promotion and being conscious about the nutrition’s influence on disease issues, especially when it comes to oncologic diseases, which nowadays occur more and more often.

ceoworld.biz: Could you give us some examples of investors who successfully developed their businesses in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship?

Mr Adam Jarubas: Wienerberger, the producer of building ceramics, will open its biggest production plant in Europe in Oleśnica, in the south of voivodeship, where the research has shown large deposits, allowing for 50 years of exploitation. The company has actually already built the plant. We have large areas which can be attractive for creating new companies in Kielce as well as nearby. For example Piekoszów benefits a lot from the Eastern Poland Development program, the Morawica commune goes as investing Eldorado.

These however include enterprises creating not that many jobs as such spectacular investments as Dell in Łódź. On the other hand we observe a rapid development of companies which have not fully taken advantage of their economic potential so far. The foundry in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski has an investment program of 200 million euro, which will be carried out despite the crisis.

A large boiler production plant in Sędziszów in the south also hired about 300 workers in the last few months, at present it employs more than 1 300 people. Because Sędziszów is along with Skarżysko Kamienna a large junction, crossing Polish routes with wide gauge railway to Ukraine, we are planning to settle a fuel terminal there, although for now it is only a future plan. However, in the context of energy crises, it can be of crucial importance for Poland. Furthermore, the Starachowice Special Economic Zone focuses on a bit smaller undertakings, although we can not forget about MAN, employing about 1 500 people.

ceoworld.biz: But MAN, as well as other big employers in Świętokrzyskie, has announced significant reduction of job posts. What is your strategy for fighting the crisis?

Mr Adam Jarubas: In comparison to other regions, the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship seems not to be endangered by mass job reductions to such a large extent. It is enough to look at Krosno, dismissing 2 thousand people. Our prescription to fight crisis is to activate European Union financial funds as quickly as possible. A part of people losing their jobs can be counting on finding a new job by the investments carried out by means of these funds. Furthermore, we dispose of the amount of 78 million euro for direct business support in the region, which means for micro, small and medium enterprises. Within the first round we have distributed an amount of 80 million euro among 80 projects. According to the indicators it will help to create over 600 new job posts. This can be a kind of positive injection for the local economy, allowing the increase of employment rate. Another 300 people will initiate their own businesses within the Operational Program ‘Human Capital’, which is 40 000 zlotys for starting a small working place.

We are aware that the situation caused by the crisis can have a very negative impact on the region’s economic condition. That is why we want to activate all the available European means as fast as possible, along with aiming at simplification of procedures, which are often very adverse. It sometimes happens, when one fifth of grants have to be assigned for the collateral.

That is a horror! The changes proposed by Minister Bieńkowska are very advantageous. They include introduction of pre-payments, which can be a remedy for the necessity of taking credits. They would also make it possible to finance the investment in several trays. Another form of collateral for the projects of value less than 4 Million could be a bill of exchange.

We are trying to contract as much as possible. In some areas we have already distributed the financial means available till 2013, because we want to take advantage of the favorable euro exchange rate.

ceoworld.biz: What hopes in the context of gaining investors interest are connected with the development of the Geographic Information System in Kielce?

Mr Adam Jarubas: We want the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to be a tool for our Investor Assistance Centre, as well as for the entrepreneurs themselves. An investor should have access to the information concerning the territories he is interested in. It is crucial to avoid disappointments arising when the purchased area turns out not to match the expectations.

In the biggest Polish cities we are observing the development of the Geographic Information Systems and we also want this system to be fully functional in our region. At the same time we are cooperating with the communes, who deliver information about even small areas of about 5 – 6ha, which often meet the investor’s needs.

ceoworld.biz: Mr Marshal, although there will not be any football matches played during the EURO 2012, the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship can surely take advantage of this event. What are yours plans concerning this issue?

Mr Adam Jarubas: If we manage to carry out the greater part of the planned road investments, it will be possible to live near Kielce and to reach Cracow within one hour. It is recently becoming more and more possible that the games will be held in Cracow as well. We will surely try to benefit from the EURO 2012 from the tourist angle. This could be a flywheel, if someone comes ones and is satisfied, he will return. When distributing the European financial funds we assigned priority to the projects from the hotel branch in order to increase the number of hotels and restaurants in the region.

ceoworld.biz: What would you describe as the most charismatic feature of the region, which you think could become a trademark for the investors?

Mr Adam Jarubas: To be honest, we have a real problem with creating a proper face of the region. Mrs Danuta Huebner, the EU Commisioner, has once stated during her visit that there is no particular feature which would be characteristic for Świętokrzyskie.

The reason for this is the fact that we have too many assets to concentrate on one. We should develop every potential and aim at cooperation of individual regional industry and service branches. Without doubt Świętokrzyskie can build its trademark on the basis of such mythical figures like the Witches of Bald Mountain, magical atmosphere and its natural and touristic uniqueness.