By: Grzegorz Morawski
CEOWORLD Magazine
The following Interview is brought to you by CEOWORLD Magazine.
Grzegorz Morawski- Mr President, how would you introduce Poznań, one of the biggest economic centres of western Poland and a potential area of foreign investment, to entrepreneurs?
Ryszard Grobelny: Poznań and the Wielkopolska Region are one of the three economically strongest regions in Poland, together with Mazowsze and Silesia. Wielkopolska has 3,700,000 inhabitants, including almost one million living in Poznań. In comparison with the rest of the country Poznań can boast relatively high purchasing power, and has the second highest income per capita. On the one hand we have a very well-developed tradition of saving and on the other, good spending skills. This is why we are one of the biggest Polish internal markets. I am sure that any entrepreneur would take this factor into consideration and that it would be a very strong argument for them.
The fact that the city’s economy has been based on private entrepreneurship for a very long time is its other asset. In the times of the partitions, before we regained independence in 1918, in the interwar period, as well as under Communism, private economic activity was very common in Poznań. This tradition has been handed down from generation to generation and is why Poznań is today economically very strong in terms of the effectiveness of small and medium sized businesses, which very often belong to families. Because of this culture of management Poznań has gained higher work output, which is why our offer is very attractive to investors.
Poznań is characterised by a very good location in the European transport network. It is situated on the road connecting Western and Eastern Europe, as well as in the vicinity of the north – south route, and is a very comfortable location. The thriving development of Poznań as an academic centre is a new element of Poznań’s image. At present, there are 140,000 students in 25 universities and colleges, and is probably the most intensely invested-in sector in Poznań. New university buildings are being erected, whole academic campuses are being built, and so prospects for this sector are very good. Investors looking for well-educated staff will surely find qualified employees in Poznań. We cover many different specialisations in many different fields, however, our city plays a leading role when it comes to knowledge of foreign languages among students. Young people in our city not only know the most popular languages, but also various exotic tongues found only rarely in this region of Europe.
Grzegorz Morawski- What are the key projects being carried out in Poznań and its vicinity that are funded from EU means? Is it mainly academic and research centres that are benefitting from these funds?
Ryszard Grobelny: Our scientific base has used EU funds to a very small degree and has benefited more from the national budget’s means. The main sphere benefiting from European Union financing is transport infrastructure. The most popular and well-known project funded with EU money so far, is the construction of the connection between the city centre and the motorway. This is a ring road that was built from EU funds, just as some of the most important road structures in Poznań. We have also been preparing a big infrastructure project for development of Poznań’s sewage system, where the investment amounts to 1,000,000,000 PLN. Additionally we are going to modernise the waste management system, which needs to be changed and renovated in all Polish cities.
The second most important field is in the direct support for entrepreneurs, especially in terms of innovative economy. It is worth mentioning that the sub-Poznań economic zone is the best developed economic zone in Poland since the early 1990’s. Other zones have been developing very quickly, as well, but the Poznań zone has been very well developed for a very long time now. If we compare output sold to suburban zones we see that the Poznań zone is stronger than the one in Warsaw.
Grzegorz Morawski- Does this mean that the potential offered by the zone to new entrepreneurs has been used-up because of overly quick development?
Ryszard Grobelny: If this reasoning were true, then nobody would invest in London, where the best-developed economic zone in the world can be found. Investors do not invest their money where there are no investments. On the contrary, they very often invest in places where economic undertakings have already been started, and this is because of the possibilities for cooperation in developed internal markets. I do not expect Poznań to attract investors in need of many low-qualified employees, because there are no such people here.
Grzegorz Morawski- Which companies have so far successfully developed their business activity in the Poznań conurbation?
Ryszard Grobelny: The automotive industry ˗ mainly the production of delivery vehicles ˗ is thriving in Poznań. I refer here mainly to Volkswagen’s investment, who are the biggest employers in Poznań at the moment. We are also one of the biggest producers of buses in Europe, thanks to two companies: MAN and Solaris, and the latter is also one of the most innovative companies in the trade. One of the biggest investors in Poznań is Bridgestone.
Poznań is also a very important pharmaceutical industry centre ˗ GlaxoSmithKline has a successful factory in the region. Traditionally, we also have strong agricultural and food industries ˗ the Kompania Piwowarska is in Poznań ˗ as well as the confectionery industry and a strong chemical industry.
Grzegorz Morawski- Mister President, the Poznań International Fair is an event with a long and rich tradition. Please, introduce the Fair to those among our readers who have not yet had a chance to participate in the event.
Ryszard Grobelny: The Poznań International Fair is a company organising around 40 events, it is both the owner of the fair’s grounds and the organiser of the fairs. We have been witnessing a very strong specialisation trend in the trade fair industry, the most important today being building, agricultural and food related, as well as furniture and economic. The Poznań International Fair is also an important conference centre; at present there are 1,500 meetings organised annually. The most important and the biggest meeting so far was the UN Climate Change Conference last year. The Poznań International Fair constitutes almost 50% of the fair industry in Poland today.
Grzegorz Morawski- The Investor Service and Investment Promotion Office of Poznań City Hall offers investors financing for training sessions for future employees. What other actions are being taken by city authorities to strengthen the position of Poznań on the Polish investment map?
Ryszard Grobelny: At present there is a whole network of actions directed at attracting and keeping investors in the region. We want to bring new investments to the region, but also to help the entrepreneurs already active on our market. The first and the most important levels of help are the organisation and administration services. There are still too many rules and procedures that apply to new investments. An investor can surely count on help in the office. Financial help, for example property tax advantages, are very important as well, certainly to some investment types. Another type of investment support we offer is help with employee recruitment and the training sessions I mentioned previously. This includes a special programme we have prepared, together with a jobcentre.
Grzegorz Morawski- Mister President, the construction of the first section of the Poznań western ring road will begin in the summer, but it is not the only planned road infrastructure investment. Please, could you tell us something more about the project?
Ryszard Grobelny: In terms of long-distance infrastructure the most important project we have been working on is development of the airport. We want to quadruple its capacity. This is, of course, connected to the Euro 2012 requirements. We are rebuilding the main road from the city centre to the airport to improve the quality of the connection of the airport with the Poznań ring road. We are also finishing implementation of the Poznań railway hub reconstruction project. The hub has been equipped with a modern management system, and the possible speed in the hub has also been raised. The bridge crossing the Oder River is also being modernised, which will significantly shorten the connection with Berlin. Modernisation of the route to Wrocław is also currently getting under way, and improvement of the connection with Szczecin is being planned. The construction of car routes is also of key importance; construction works on the last western section of the A2 motorway are beginning in the Lubuskie Region, and this section should be ready in two and a half years, before Euro 2012. In the vicinity of Poznań itself, the western section of the city ring road, an A road, will be built. The construction of the A road to Katowice is practically finished, the construction of the eastern section of the Poznań ring road to Bydgoszcz will also begin soon. Poznań has also modernised its roads from the motorway to the city, and entrances to the city from the south-west will be very efficient. We still have to renovate the external network of roads and tramway tracks.
Grzegorz Morawski- Does this mean that Poznań is almost ready to host Euro 2012?
Ryszard Grobelny: Construction work on the stadium in Poznań began before the decision concerning the organisation of Euro 2012; we simply believed that the city needed a modern sports facility. We are very happy that it will be used during the Football Championship. All out-of-transport construction works have to be finished by the Championship, however all the works would have been carried out even if Poznań were not organising the event.
Accommodation reserves depend on the city’s potential and not on a one-time event happening in 2012. Poznań has significant potential, and we are systematically strengthening this potential by developing its conference functions. In the international arena Poznań is well-known for organising canoeing and rowing championships and not football championships. We have the best facilities in the world when it comes to canoeing and rowing. This year in Poznań the World Rowing Championships will be held, which are a huge event and the sport is the second biggest Olympic discipline, with athletics being the first. Next year Poznań will be the organiser of the World Canoe Championships. These events do not get too much media coverage but for us they are everyday life, in a way. To support this sporting boom in Poznań, the city is also competing for organisation of the youth Olympics in 2014, and we will probably know the results of the bidding in winter.
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Contact details: Poznan City Hall Plac kolegiacki 17, 61-841 Poznań, Poland, tel. +48 61-878-54-28 fax: +48 61-878-55-00 mail: promocja@um.poznan.pl www.poznan.pl |
Thank you very much for the interview.
