Poland 's €190m deep-sea port in Gdansk on schedule
Gdansk 's €190m deep-sea container terminal (DCT) project, Poland's single largest port investment, is due to become operational next summer. According to James Sutcliffe, chief executive at DCT, the terminal will be the largest container terminal in Poland with no constraints concerning the size of vessels.
Phase one of the project will have a maximum capacity of 500,000 20-foot containers per annum and phase two of the project will increase the DCT terminal's capacity to handle 1m containers per annum. Construction started last October and the terminal will be available for use 1 June 2007.
Subject to demand, the second phase will be completed 2010-2012. Unlike most Baltic ports, Gdansk is ice-free all year round and experts predict that container traffic in Poland will grow faster than the worldwide average of nine percent per annum.
The port has good rail connections reaching as far south as Odessa and southern Europe. Road connections are being up-graded and road traffic will have direct access from DCT onto the proposed new A1 southbound motorway.
The new deep-sea facility, which Poland doesn't have at the moment, will expand the potential import-export market. Business opportunities will increase, and this in turn will attract inward investment, most likely in manufacturing.
Lack of skilled labor, not rising wages threatening Polish business
According to studies by the Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP), the biggest problem for businesses this year will be the lack of qualified employees.
The studies show that entrepreneurs do not have to be afraid of increased salary demands and that the economy will not suffer from the negative effects of increased employment and salaries. According to Malgorzata Krzysztofek, a PKPP expert, it would be dangerous if salaries grew faster than labor productivity: "It would lead to the increase of unit labor costs and the decrease of competitiveness. But this scenario will not materialize this year. Companies will instead face a different problem, namely a lack of qualified employees."
The studies, which covered small and medium-sized enterprises, show that the lack of qualified employees has a negative impact on the development and financial condition of 43.2% of companies. According to the PKPP president Henryka Bochniarz, the problem is getting worse due to mass emigration of young educated Poles: "The government should recognize the problem and do everything it can to create conditions for these Poles to find jobs here."
Bulgaria’s Bansko considers airport construction
The possibility for the construction of an airport close to Bansko (the winter ski resort) featured among the topics of discussion during a meeting between Bansko Mayor Aleksander Kravarov and consultants from the US Trade and Development Agency.
Participants in the discussion talked about the opening an airport for passengers coming from EU member states. The airport would have the ability to service Boeing 737 planes and other aircraft. If the project received approval, the US Trade and Development Agency would provide funding for plan preparation worth over €150,000.
Kravarov said that Bansko suffered from a lack of qualified tourism staff and to improve the quality of services offered, the resort would have to limit construction and provide funds for additional infrastructure and ski tracks.
Tirana’s transport infrastructure gets a boost
In its first project in Albania’s municipal infrastructure sector, the EBRD is lending the Albanian government €14.6m for the rehabilitation of roads in the capital, Tirana. The loan will finance the construction of the Kamza interchange.
Part of the loan will be on-lent to Tirana city authorities to finance the rehabilitation and upgrading of a 3.34km section of the Tirana ring road.
The project will be complemented by a creditworthiness enhancement programme and a sustainable transport strategy financed by Technical Cooperation funds.
The population of Tirana has grown from 320,000 in 1992 to around a million today. The level of motorisation has also risen sharply: In the late-1980s there were around 2,000 cars in Albania, while the number is now estimated to be close to 300,000. Traffic congestion and environmental pollution have become pressing concerns because of a lack of adequate infrastructure.
By financing the rehabilitation and upgrading of two key sections of the capital’s road network the project aims to ease traffic flow, reduce transport costs and improve the environment. In addition, the sustainable transport strategy will identify alternative ways to improve transport services in Tirana and develop a coherent and affordable action plan for the next five years. Grant assistance amounting to €600,000 is provided by Italy through the Italian Cooperation Fund for Private Sector Development in the Western Balkans and by the Central European Initiative – EBRD Trust Fund.
Further arrests made in Marbella
Thirty ex-councillors, property developers and other local businesspeople were taken into custody last week in Marbella, as part of the local anti-corruption drive.
According to local newspaper, Sur: “The plot against Julián Muñoz (the ex-mayor) was allegedly the work of Juan Antonio Roca, the ringleader of the entire corruption scandal, and the councillors who supported it are thought to have been paid €300,000 each for their work.”
Reuters to set up permanent centre in Gdansk
Reuters, the global information company, has announced that it will establish a permanent data management centre in the Gdansk area of Poland. The city in northern Poland has been chosen because of the broad range of language skills available locally, and good infrastructure and access.
The first staff members are being recruited at the moment and will undergo training to provide information for Reuters products. Their task will be to research economic and company information on local markets, and to input/analyse it before sending it out to Reuters clients.
Reuters hopes to build up the number of market analysts in Gdansk over the coming months and to establish a permanent location in the Gdansk area as soon as possible. The new centre will run in tandem with the current UK site in Tiverton, Devon.
Justin Abel, global head of data, added: “We chose Gdansk because it best met our many business needs. We have been very impressed with the high skills level of the workforce, the business friendly and supportive city government, and the fine infrastructure.”
Low cost airlines depart for Romania
Wizzair has announced that it will introduce direct flights from London’s Luton Airport to Bucharest Baneasa Airport starting in January 2007. Wizzair is the first budget airline to fly between the UK and Romania and the new route could prompt more property investors to buy-to-let apartments in the capital.
New EU update on FDI
Austrian company Cargo Partner will build a new logistics centre in Prague, worth more than €9.5m. The centre will be built in the second half of this year and is expected to be situated near Prague’s Ruzyne Airport. The company increased revenue in the Czech Republic by 89% last year to €19.4m and is currently completing a logistics centre in Bratislava, costing over €6m.
Missouri-based carbon fibre manufacturer Zoltek has completed the first phase of its €72m investment in expanding its factory in Nyergesujfalu, north of Budapest. The additional production space will boost the company’s capacity in Hungary by 50%.
Austrian S&T System Integration & Technology Distribution AG is opening a new subsidiary in Romania. The new centre should reinforce S&T’s strong position in the software solutions markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
Worldwide News
Canadian property price inflation forecast at 9.1%
Royal LePage Real Estate Services forecast that average property prices in Canada will rise by 9.2% year-over-year to $272,200 by the end of 2006.
Phil Soper, president and chief executive at Royal LePage Real Estate Services, said: "The process of buying or selling a home across most of Canada has become easier, as supply has been able to keep up with demand and price increases have been modest.
“The story in the west, and particularly in Alberta, is quite different, with extraordinary demand levels far surpassing available inventory.
"The result has been some of the highest year-over-year price increases that have been experienced in any region of this country in decades. This pattern will likely continue for the remainder of the year.”
Campeche interest increase
The Campeche Playa Golf marina & Spa Resort, which is currently being constructed in Mexico is reportedly starting to cause a stir amongst some UK investors.
total of 16% of the 1,200 first phase properties have already been sold. British media exposure is set to increase over the next couple of months and developer Grupo Mall and Pure International expect property values to double in the next three to four years.
Investors plan ‘rotating city’ in Dubai
A group of investors have put plans together to construct a $1bn ‘rotating city’ in the emirate's leisure complex of DubaiLand, according to reports in Dubai.
The project is expected to include around twenty apartment towers with rotating floors, as well as separate villas that revolve while moving up and down on supports.
A senior source involved in the project’s planning said: “It’s very unique. It’s the first rotating city in the world.”
He added: “You will be able to acquire villas, apartments, floating villas on water, and flying villas that elevate in the air. So you have the accessibility to a villa that not only rotates on ground, but it gives you up to a 15 metre to 20 metre up in-the-air elevation. It’s a mind-blowing project. We will have 20 towers with every single floor rotating."
Bahrain Financial Harbour residential development
It has been confirmed that the “Villamar at the Harbour” will be the first residential development to be built at the multibillion-pound Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH).
Mr. Faisal Al Mutawa, Chairman of Bayan Investment Company said: "There is a clear need to provide residential accommodation of this quality within easy reach of the offices and facilities of BFH. We see this model operating successfully in other international financial centres such as Canary Wharf in London.”
