Silesia Online - Silesia - Business-Friendly Region

In order to boost economic development of certain regions of Poland, Special Economic Zones were established within the country. Currently, there are fourteen Special Economic Zones, one of which is situated in the Silesian voivodship, i.e. the Katowice Special Economic Zone (KSEZ, for short). The KSEZ has been in operation since 1996, when it was established with the purpose of assisting in the restructuring process and creating new job opportunities.

Similarly to other Special Economic Zones, the KSEZ offers preferential terms on which businesses may operate, e.g. corporate income and property tax exemptions. A special permit is required for running ventures within the zone. The permit may be obtained from the management of each of the zones. The management also offers assistance to prospective entrepreneurs during the whole investment procedures.

The Katowice Special Economic Zone covers the area of 1,189.1 ha and is divided into the 4 sub-zones. These are as follows:

- the Gliwice sub-zone,

- the Jastrzebie-Zdroj and Zory sub-zone,

- the Sosnowiec and Dabrowa Gornicza subzone and

- the Tychy subzone.

As investment sites are still on offer within the KSEZ, entrepreneurs are welcome to set up their businesses here. By the end of 2006, as many as 80 investors launched their ventures within the Katowice Special Economic Zone, whereas the total value of the capital invested amounted to over PLN 9.4 billion with more than 26,000 people employed.

Major investors are the leading companies in the following sectors: the automotive industry (General Motors Manufacturing Poland, FIAT-GM Powertrain Polska, Isuzu Motors, Tenneco Automotive Eastern Europe), the chemical industry (Guardian Industries Poland), the metal industry (Alupol), the construction industry (Ekocem) and the ceramics manufacturing industry (Roca Polska).