Ukraine Fosters Investment Opportunities Through Industrial Parks

KYIV, Ukraine, August 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

The President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, signed the law regulating the introduction of the industrial parks in Ukraine. The document, taking effect on September 5, 2012, establishes no import duty on supplies, materials and equipment which are necessary for construction of industrial parks and are not produced in Ukraine.

The law is aimed at protecting investor's rights, and provides for the reduction of procedures associated with obtaining a land plot within the industrial park areas. The allocation of land with necessary infrastructure will reduce the time between initial investment and the final product release on the market down to six or eight months, said Vladyslav Kaskiv, head of the State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine (SAINPU).

The new law defined industrial parks as area designed for purposes of industrial development, where the members, who invest in construction and land development, may perform business activities in research, information and telecommunication, as well as industrial production.

The law allows for the companies managing industrial parks to apply for the interest-free loans and non-refundable financing from the state budget. The new law also identified the requirements necessary to form, operate and liquidate industrial parks on the state, municipal and privately-owned land. They include the classification of land - industrial purpose, size of the land - between 15 and 700 hectares (37 - 1,729 acres), duration of land lease - no less than 30 years.

The new law is estimated to attract about USD 8 billion into Ukrainian economy within the next three to four years, create 300 thousand new jobs, and develop the country's infrastructure, according to Kaskiv.

Currently, Ukraine is analyzing territories suitable for industrial parks. Regional and city administrations submitted their proposals that included plans and initial designs of such parks. Notably, Dnipropetrovsk, Luhansk and Ivano-Frankivsk region have identified seven such areas, Zaporizhzhia - six, Odesa - five, Sumy - four, and Crimea - three locations that are suitable for industrial parks, reports SAINPU. So far, the Agency received about 40 proposals and 15 conceptual designs of such parks.

Notably, the United States has about 400 industrial parks, Czech Republic - 140, Poland - 60, and Turkey - 262. Vietnam set up about 200 industrial parks, which account for 25 percent of GDP and 40 percent of the overall investments.