A Calculated Economy

Marek Dański talks with Michał Chojara, Mayor of the town and municipality of Pniewy.
- Mr. Mayor, can you briefly describe Pniewy?
- Pniewy is a small town located 50 km. west of Poznań, with a history going back to 1256. Twelve thousand people live in the town and its environs. Pniewy is situated at the crossing of the major international trade routes linking Moscow with Berlin, Sweden and the Czech Republic via the Silesia region. Such a location is a major developmental strength, which is skillfully used here, because Pniewy simply cannot be ignored.
- In the last three years, local investments have amounted to more than PLN 15 million, of which 8 million came from the local budget. Can you tell us how you acquired such significant financial resources, or is the city so rich?
- We have always been aware of the fact that in order to use our favorable location we need to create acceptable conditions for investments. By this I mean the development of our technical and communal infrastructure, as well as adequate administrative and legal solutions. We have spent plenty of time and money on it, but the town is well equipped now. We have fully developed sewage, water and gas networks, as well as efficient communications. Moreover, we have opened a water treatment plant.
 We have also built a beltway, which has allowed for the creation of a fully developed investment area of 80 ha. We have observed growing investor interest thanks to the attractive prices for property and moderate taxes here. We are not greedy, and in our calculations we take into consideration the long-term perspective, not quick profits.

 

- What effects has this brought?
-Over 600 business entities have been registered in our 22 municipal towns, which is a large number, taking into consideration the size of our municipality. These are on average small, family businesses, but also large companies from Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden that have invested here. There is no denying that although our offer is directed at all willing to place capital here, we mainly concentrate on German investors, since a mere 200-km. divides Pniewy from Berlin, and the town is located only 130 km. away from the Polish-German border. This is a great opportunity for German investors and those willing to build bridgeheads to Russia and Ukraine, which has already brought anticipated results.
- You have already achieved major success. Where do you see further development of the municipality? What will serve as the driving force in the future?
- Our municipality is attractive in terms of its nature and beautiful landscapes. We have numerous woods and clean lakes, which we do not wish to tarnish with industry.  This is why we are interested in medium-sized businesses specializing in state-of-the-art technologies, whose services and output will not endanger the natural environment.
 I anticipate establishment of companies servicing traffic in transit, tourism and economic traffic, including development of hotel and restaurant networks and storage facilities. The region has also cultivated agricultural traditions and has a reserve of soils, which can be an incentive for establishing agricultural production and food processing facilities. We also have made easy and accelerated administrative services for the investors. We respect their time and work to make decisions fast and in accordance with their needs.
 However, a well-developed network of schools, which guarantees well-qualified human resources, is the driving force for the region. All these assets allow us to be optimistic about the future.
- Thank you for your time .