General Motors to make 150,000 cars a year in Warsaw
General Motors confirmed that it will start production of a Chevrolet compact four-door sedan late next year at the FSO plant in Warsaw. FSO is owned by GM's partner in the venture - Ukraine's UkrAvto.
The companies plan to manufacture about 60,000 Chevrolet Aveos during the first full year of production and increase that number to over 150,000 in the next full business year.
GM already cooperates with UkrAvto to make Chevrolets in Ukraine, so building up capacity in Poland is now seen as a logical way to increase European production of the brand rather than rely on imports.
EIB provides €520m for Hungarian infrastructure projects
The Hungarian Minister of Finance János Veres and EIB Vice-President Ivan Pilip have signed two finance contracts relating to the construction of 72km of motorway and by-pass connections on the M3/M35 motorway connecting Budapest with Hungary’s second largest city Debrecen, and a loan for the up-front co-financing of the Hungarian portion of the EU Cohesion Funds.
On the same day they signed a €100m agreement to finance small projects in the areas of infrastructure, energy, and environmental protection.
The M3/M35 Motorway, which is part of the Trans-European Network, links the Hungarian capital Budapest with the less developed regions of Hungary in the East. Its completion is extremely important for the development of the eastern parts of Hungary and their connection with other EU capitals. The project involves the construction of a bypass around the city of Nyíregyháza and the extension of the motorway from Görbeháza to Debrecen, including a Debrecen bypass road. The new motorway sections will increase transport safety and help to cope with the increased traffic flow since Hungary joined the European Union.
€122m light rail train for Antalya in southern Turkey
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is expected to lend €60m to the municipality of Antalya, on the south coast of Turkey, for the construction of a light rail train.
The project, which is currently under appraisal, consists of the construction of an 11km double-track tramway system with 16 stations including a depot, maintenance shops and yards. The project is designed to satisfy passenger demands, which is estimated by the Transportation Master Plan to be 14,200 passengers per hour (in each direction) by the year 2020.
Transport throughout the municipality of Antalya is currently road-based, comprising public buses, minibuses, taxis and private cars. By developing a rail-based system, the municipality aims to improve the quality and enhance the attractiveness of its public transport services. The main economic benefits of the project are expected to be lower levels of road accidents, travel-time savings, reduction in fuel consumption and vehicle usage costs, and reduction in pollution.
The total cost of the project will be €122m.
Lithuanian transport sector to receive major investment
The Lithuanian government is planning to invest around Lt3.2bn (£635m) into modernising the country's transport infrastructure over the next seven years, starting 2007, to increase the country's attractiveness to investors and to boost incoming tourism, according to Alminas Maciulis, the state secretary at the Ministry of Transport.
Major transport projects will include the construction of the Via Baltica motorway - which aims to connect the Baltic States with Poland, the upgrading of the highway, and the improvement of Rail Baltica (a top priority European project).
A further Lt300m (£60m) has been earmarked for the development of sea transport, ports and already existing cargo and passenger terminals.
As many as 100,000 Spanish properties built without planning permission, or with an invalid building license, could be demolished, reports the Spanish daily ‘El Mundo.’
Antonio Vercher, the head official in charge of real estate and environmental investigations, reportedly said: "We need to rethink this issue, and find effective new solutions.”
Warm weather could spoil rental returns for Bulgarian ski investors
Unusually warm weather in Bulgaria is spoiling the plans of tourism companies and property investors for the winter season. The winter season 2006/2007 has to open in the middle of December, but at the moment, none of the tracks in Bulgarian resorts are suitable for skiing.
Weathermen predict unchanged or even higher temperatures next week and this winter could be the hottest in Europe for almost 50 years.
Tour operators are reported to be considering alternative plans to entertain tourists until snow became sufficient for winter sports.
Pamporovo, one of the three major Bulgarian ski resorts, has already postponed the opening of the ski season by one week.
One tour operator is reported to have said that both hotel and apartment owners could lose a lot of money this year if the winter season failed. Bulgaria’s image as an attractive winter tourism destination would also be harmed they added.
Warbud to build Dell plant in Lodz
Warbud has signed a letter of intent with the American computer giant Dell Products to act as general contractor in the construction of a production complex in Lodz, which will manufacture electronic notebooks and servers.
The preliminary estimated value of the contract is more than €50m. The core agreement is to be signed no later than on 13 December 2006. The complex should be built and fully operational by October 2007, initially employing 1,000 workers.
"We will invest €200m, and our contractors will add another €53m", announced Dell's deputy president for the EMEA region, Sean Cockery.
"We will be producing laptops, computers and servers like the ones we produce at our plant in Limerick, Ireland, but aimed at a different market. The products from Lódz will be exported to Scandinavia, Germany, Central and Eastern Europe", added Cockery.
The plant in Lódz is expected to reach its full capacity in 2011, when it will employ at least 3,000 workers.
Google to locate its R&D centre in Krakow
Internet giant Google plans to open a research and development, (R&D), centre in Krakow, Poland.
"The investment in Krakow shows the company's involvement and the important role of Poland as a market and a country, where one can find extremely talented people", said Google's vice president responsible for research and engineering, Alan Eustace.
The Krakow centre will be Google's first R&D centre in Central Europe and its 10th largest in Europe.
Worldwide News
US house prices continue to fall at an alarming rate
Average new-build house prices in America fell by 10% in November 2006, while average existing home prices dropped by 3.5%. This represents the biggest year-on-year decline in almost forty years and is also the first time that average US prices have fallen three months in a row.
Australian property returns reach a 17-year high
The property market (commercial) in Australia delivered a total return of almost 16% in the 12 months to the end of September, the highest for 17 years, according to the latest Investment Property Databank ( IPD) Australian Composite Index.
John Garimont of IPD said total returns from direct property investment in Sydney rose from 9.8% in September 2005 to 16.12% this September. The high returns came from a combination of rental and capital growth, particularly in the office sector.
He said: "Nothing exemplifies this office turnaround story more than the strength of the capital growth component of total returns - up more than 6%. Twelve months ago capital growth for the office sector was 1.78% - today it is 7.93 per cent."
Sydney returned 13.29% and 16.12% in the last two quarters. While Melbourne's total returns rose from 8.69% 12 months ago to 12.35%, with Mr Garimont forecasting continuing improvement in Melbourne.
Apart from the office markets, he said, the retail and industrial sectors continued to deliver "a remarkably stable return story."
The property market (residential and commercial) in India shows no signs of slowing down, according to a Business Confidence survey conducted by international real estate consultancy firm DTZ Debenham Tie Leung and the Singapore-based IQPC.
The report suggests that average residential property prices are set to appreciate by 5-10% over the next six to twelve months.
Ambar Maheshwari, director of DTZ India, said: "As per the survey results, the residential segment is expected to drive the real estate market in coming years. There exists a huge demand in this sector, with nearly 80 million dwelling units required in next 10 years.”
