Kostrzyn-Słubice Special Economic Zone
Management Board
President: Jerzy Korolewicz
66-470 Kostrzyn n. Odr±, ul. Orła Białego 22
tel.: (+48 95) 752 41 66,
fax.: (+48 95) 752 41 67
http://www.zone.shaco.pl/
e-mail zone@shaco.pl
Profile of the region and the Zone
The Zone is located in Western Poland (Lubuskie Province), near the German border, on the main transportation route East _West. The areas of the Zone have a direct access to the international railroad Paris _ Berlin _ Warsaw _ Moscow, they are situated near the main land roads (including junction of A-2 Highway) as well as the largest
in Western Poland road and railway border crossings (passenger and cargo). There is also water transportation by the Oder River to seaports in Szczecin and Owinoujocie as well as river ports in Berlin and Hamburg (permanent line connections). The Warta River along with a system of canals facilitates transport of goods deep into Poland.
Nearest big towns and cities
Frankfurt on the Oder _ K-32 km, S-100 m _ 80,000 residents;
Berlin _ K-70 km _ S-90 km _ 6-7 million residents;
Gorzów Wielkopolski _ K-45 km, S-60 km _ population: 130,000;
Poznan _ K-170 km, - S-145 km _ population 560,000;
Szczecin _ K-110 km, S-145 km _ population 400,000;
Zielona Góra _ K-140 km, S-110 km _ population 120,000.
Zone's area
The combined area of the Zone is 462.56 ha, which is not built up, and earmarked for green-field site development. It is divided into
2 Sub-Zones, one of which is in the area of Słubice and the other one located in the city of Kostrzyn. These areas are entirely free from old buildings and old installations as well as free of contamination.
Kostrzyn Sub-Zone
The total area of the Sub-Zone covers 325 ha. The area is divided into three complexes with all public utilities located inside the city. The complexes are (a) 66 ha, (b) 168 ha, and (c) 91 ha respectively.
Complex No. 1
Complex No.1 covers the area of 66 ha. So far 5 companies have installed in the complex. The companies are as follows:
1. Podravka Polska sp. z o.o. - Croatian firm which produces seasonings and de-hydrated and instant meals.
2. Löblein Sp. z o.o. - a German firm producing meat (poultry) products.
3. ICT Poland Sp. z o.o. - an Italian company producing high quality paper and tissue products.
4. Agro Bor Louisa Sp. z o.o. - a Dutch firm processing meat products from game.
5. Teleskop Sp. z o.o. - a Belgian company producing crane's elements.
Complex No. 2
Complex No. 2 covers the area of 168 ha. The complex is a reserve site for future development of the Zone.
Complex No. 3
Complex No. 3 covers the area of 91 ha. The complex is located directly by the national road Kostrzyn _ Gorzów. The image below presents the localisation of the first investor installed in this complex - Schoop Druk Wydawnictwo Reklamowe (Promotion Company) Sp. z o.o.- a company representing German capital planning to build a plant producing paper promotional materials and rendering printing services. The Managing Board is presently conducting negotiations which will followed up by issuing further permissions for conducting business activities in the complex.
Gas
The town has a dense network of medium and low pressure pipes connected to a gas plant with a transmission capacity of 5,500 m3/h of natural gas (GZ-50) per hour. A new high-pressure gas pipeline is being planned together with gas pipelines which will double the number of medium pressure pipes for users in the Zone.
Telecommunications
The Zone has easy access to land lines and cellular networks. The new digital telephone exchange opened in Kostrzyn will fully meet the needs of investors in the field of telecommunications (also in the field of ISDN connections).
Roads
Kostrzyn has road links with Berlin, Szczecin, Gorzów, Poznań and Zielona Góra. It has its own car and lorry border crossings (up to 3.5 tonnes) and soon a new road crossing for heavy goods traffic is planned to be opened. The A-2 Motorway is about 35 km from the town.
Railways
There are two big railway junctions in Kostrzyn including the North/South coal route, and the Berlin - Kostrzyn - Warsaw - Moscow line.
Water transport
The town is located at the confluence of the Warta and Odra rivers. The waters are navigable for 9 months of the year; there is a permanent link with Berlin (20 hours), Hamburg (5 days) and Szczecin (16 hours).
All the above-mentioned utilities are supplied up to the perimeter of the investors' site at the agreed time, and in the agreed quantities.
Słubice Sub-Zone
The total area of the Sub-Zone amounts to 132 ha. An independent complex is located outside the city limits, between Berlin _ Warsaw main railroad and international border crossing on A-2 Highway in Owiecko.
Complex in the Słubice Sub-Zone
This is an autonomous Sub-Zone, outside the perimeter of the town. The site is about 300 m
Technical infrastructure in the Kostrzyn Sub-Zone
Water
At present, the rate of supply is 440 m3 of water, delivered to meet the needs of the town and its investors, with a reserve capacity of 140 m3 per hour.
Sewers
The sewage system consists of a system of collectors connected with the new mechanical/biological treatment plant of efficiency amounting to 65,000 m3 per day.
Electricity
The supply of electrical energy would be provided from the existing "Kostrzyn" Power Station (110/15/6 kW) which has two transformers each with a capacity of 25/16/16 MWA which is connected up to two 110 kW lines. The present reserve strength is 17 MW. Away from the Słubice - Zielona Góra national road. 500 m away there is an A-2 motorway junction. After crossing the border at Owiecko there is an unlimited access to the German motorway network. All roads surrounding the Sub-Zone are adapted to heavy goods' traffic and connected to all directions.
The Sub-Zone's first investors are indicated on the map of the site. The companies are as follows:
1. Ekoline S.A. - a Polish firm producing building and construction materials.
2. Arinstein Sp. z o.o. - a German firm producing machinery for metal processing.
3. Foliarex - a Polish firm producing insulation foils for building industry.
4. MHG Meble (Furniture) Holding Group - a Polish furniture manufacturer.
5. Mila Plus Sp. z o.o. - a Polish upholstered furniture manufacturer.
6. Könecke Sp. z o.o. - a German meat-processing company.
Electricity
There is a 10 MW reserve of electricity provided by a 110/15 kW power station, which means that investors can commence production immediately.
Gas
Gas at the rate of GZ-50 is currently supplied by the Frankfurt-on-the-Oder gas pipeline. Due to the small reserves of gas it is proposed to supply the area with a new high pressure gasworks, based on greater supplies from Germany. The Słubice Sub-Zone will be connected to a natural gas pipeline in October 2000.
Telecommunications
A full range of telecommunications services is accessible. The new land line and cellular telephone exchanges are working efficiently. Near the complex there is a fibre-optic line with two spare lines available for utilisation by investors in the subzones.
Roads
The Zone has got good communications with the town centre and the customs goods terminal in Owiecko. It is adjacent to the national route S3ubice - Zielona Góra and the A-2 Berlin-Owiecko - Warsaw motorway. The internal road connecting the Sub-Zone with the road to Zielona Góra will be modernised in the near future.
Railways
The complex is directly next to the main East/West rail line and has its own railroad siding coming from the station in Kunowice.
All the utilities mentioned above (apart from gas where the deadline is October 2000) are supplied to the perimeter of the investment plot at a time and in the quantities agreed with the investor.
Investments to date
So far 12 permissions have been issued for carrying out business activity in the Zone. The Managing Board intends to issue the next permissions in the following couple of weeks.
Technical infrastructure of the Słubice Sub-Zone
Water
There is a water pumping station that serves the town of Słubice right next to the Słubice Sub-Zone, which will serve investors.
Sewage
Part of the Sub-Zone is served by the existing drainage and sanitary sewage systems. The sewers will link up mechanical and biological treatment plants with the towns.
Availability and qualifications of the workforce
The proposed location includes real estate in Kostrzyn-on-the-Oder and S3ubice. These are towns with populations of about 18,000 each. It should be noted that the unemployment rate in the area directly surrounding the Zone oscillates around the 18% (about 20,000 people).
The Management Company has its own database of people looking for work. The data is being collected for the benefit of future investors and includes information about the candidates' professional qualifications and work experience. At present this information is free of charge. It is worth mentioning that for the time being the Managing Board has already collected 2,700 people.
Employment in the area surrouding the Zone
The current dominant activity in the region is trade and services. In Kostrzyn this form of activity accounts for 55% of the working population. Kostrzyn's biggest industrial establishment KOSTRZYN PAPER employs about 600 people, over 1,000 people are employed at the market by the border. A similar situation can be noticed in S3ubice, with this difference however, that at the moment the town is a typical trading centre. There are several manufacturing plants which, however, employ a small number of people only. Until recently, a big employer was Komes _ the S3ubice jeans manufacturer. So far in Sub-Zone S3ubice six permissions for business activity have been issued.
Profile of the Lubuskie Province Population and unemployment
Regional population:
Total number makes 1 million _ 42 % of which is people at working age.
Unemployment level: 18.63 %.
Total number of unemployed in the province makes 79,525 people (data: January 2000).
Workforces
The towns in the region have workforces with the following qualifications to offer:
- paper production
- chemical processing
- building material production
- machinery
- electronics
- food processing
- wood processing
- textiles.
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Earnings in the region
Gross pay without additional costs:
- Industry type Average monthly pay levels (PLN)
- Industrial production (excluding mining) 1,495.81
- Cellulose and paper production 2,134.72
- Rubber goods production 1,364.70
- Metal goods production (except machines) 1,484.22
- Machinery and installations production 1,520.76
- Other production 1,001.05
- Trade and services 1,319.97
- Mining (gravel, and sand etc.) 1,727.24
- Building and construction 1,415.77
- Real-estate and related services 1,596.02
- Hotels and restaurants 924.27
- Transport & telecommunications 1,510.73
- Other from 550.00 to 1,200
Source: Gorzów Wielkopolski Statistical Office
Remuneration:
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. graduate from Vocational and Technical Secondary Schools - from 500 PLN to 1,500 PLN
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. graduates of University and Technical School - from 2,000 to 4,000 PLN.
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. The average pay of a manager in the region: 5,000 - 10,000 PLN.
Schools in the region
Kostrzyn-Słubice Special Economic Zone is in the direct vicinity of the following higher educational institutes:
Higher Schools:
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European University "Viadrina" in Frankfurt-on-the-Oder with its Polish section
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Collegium Polonicum in Słubice - (UAM branch of Poznan University);
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Szczecin University - Gorzów branch
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Szczecin Politechnic - Gorzów branch
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Zielona Góra Politechnic
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Gorzów Higher Vocational School:
two Institutes - Economics and Administration together with the Teacher Training Institute and Foreign Languages College
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Gorzów High School of Business
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Physical Education Institute in Gorzów
(a branch of the Poznan Academy of Physical Education )
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Poznan University Theology Department in Gorzów.
There is also a range of Secondary Technical and Vocational Schools as well as Grammar Schools in the Province.
Tax reliefs
1. The income from business activity, specified in the permit is free of income tax for the period of 10 years starting from the day when an investor started his business operation in the area of the Zone and in the amount of 50 % in the remaining period i.e. till November 2017.
2. The amount of income tax exemption is decided by choosing one exemption base, which should be immediately reported to the institution issuing the permit and tax office proper in dealing with income taxes. The chosen exemption base can not be changed within the period of a tax year.
3. An income constituting an equivalent of investment expenditures is free from an income tax. In case when investment expenditures exceed the amount equalling 1 million EURO any income is fully exempted from an income tax.
4. An income tax exemption amounts to 20% of income for each ten employees working in an entity, however an exemption can not be lower than 20% and higher than 100% of monthly income with employment higher than 50 people.
5. The exemption mentioned in act 4 applies exclusively to workers employed in order to establish the Zone in a given month of a tax year. The number of workers is established by calculating full times as a month's average.
Moreover
1. An entity seated in the Zone and with business conducted exclusively in its area can be also exempted from an income tax.
2. The day when the first invoice, concerning sales of products manufactured in the Zone or services rendered in its area, is issued is regarded as the first day of operation of the entity in the area of the Zone.
3. An entity not entitled for an income tax exemption can include expenditures for purchase of non-material or legal values to cost of earning an income. It can also increase amortisation rates of capital assets.
Other preferences
1. Tax exemption from real-estate;
2. Cutting the period of issuing permit for purchase of real-estate in the Zone by foreigners to one month.