Strings to the archer’s bow

Even so, other cities still have reasons for envying Radom. It is only 100 km from Warsaw, is situated in the centre of the country and has a large number of educated workers. The Radom University of Technology had almost 500 academic staff in late 2005 and a campus of almost 15,000 students. Added to this are the 20 other schools of higher education, including many external departments of Warsaw and Lublin colleges. But the prospects for the graduates of these institutions, however, are distinctly gloomy, with average salaries in Radom being not only lower than in Warsaw, but also than those for Mazovia as a whole.

According to Dorota Flak, an analyst in the research and consultancy department of agents King Sturge, who herself hails from Radom: “The city has the largest jobless rate among centres of a similar size in Poland and one of the largest in the whole country.”

Something for industry  Alina Kornafel, assistant to the president of the board of Jadar Techmatic states that: “The decision to centralize the production of these building materials in Radom stemmed from the fact that our second factory Jadar Techmatic – which manufactures machinery and devices to produce setts and miscellaneous concrete items within the TSEZ – was already in operation. Radom’s location in the very centre of Poland was another factor taken into consideration. Up until then we were mainly based in the central and southern regions of Poland, whereas now we are able to win other markets as well.”

Company director Hans Ludi, told the ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ daily newspaper in August 2006: “The costs of building a new factory – as well as labour costs – are much lower in Poland than in Switzerland. Radom lies in the centre of Poland, and the city authorities, in addition, also offered us land within the zone, thus giving us even greater advantages. Moreover, the city has gone out of its way to offer thorough and effective assistance in settling all the procedures concerning the purchase of the land, obtaining a building permit and finding a contractor for the new plant.”

The latest investment in the subzone is a food packaging factory from the American company Chesapeake Packaging Poland at a cost of USD 15 mln. The company has signed a contract with the city under which it will lease a 4-ha plot in Wólka Klwatecka, with production due to start in Q1 of 2008.

Sunny beach

The land on which the only large shopping investment – Centrum Słoneczne – is under way has a long history behind it. The plot on pl. Jagiellońskiego was earmarked as a construction site way back in the 1950s but it was only in 1999 that the city authorities announced a tender to lease the plot for a shopping and entertainment centre. Plaza Centers Poland submitted the best offer, but since work had not begun on schedule, the land returned to the city. Justyna Durmaj, Plaza Centers’ spokesperson, gave this brief explanation: “The board decided it will not be developing anything in Radom due to internal restructuring.”

Apollo-Rida, which intends to expand its existing M1 shopping centre, presently enjoys a dominant position on  Radom’s large-scale shopping market. The USA company intends to develop a second property on an adjoining site of slightly more than half a hectare, though it still refuses to reveal details about the investment. Witold Rodziewicz, Apollo-Rida’s asset management director, reveals that: “The new 3,800 sqm building  will supplement what is offered by the existing M1 centre. We have already applied for a building permit and should events proceed smoothly we shall be opening the new property before the year is out.”

According to Roman Saczywko, the owner of Rosabud: “We are currently engaged on earth-moving and concreting work to ensure the safety of the neighbouring tenement buildings. The mall will open this October, and the sales area is already almost entirely rented. The list of tenants and the rent price-list will be revealed in the next 3 months.”

 In addition, several local developers are implementing around 10 housing projects in Radom at this moment, each offering several dozen flats as well as 2 estates for single-family homes and between 20 and 30 houses. According to Radom town council’s data, somewhat less than 190 residences were delivered in the first half of 2006, with the gross per sqm price for new developments oscillating at around PLN 2,500.

Flying high

Radom has been trying to secure an airport for more than ten years, but now it seems it will come at a cost of around PLN 70 mln, sited on a former military airfield in the Sadków district. After several shambolic attempts, in the first half of last year the Parsons Brinckerhoff company drew up an economic feasibility study for the project, which demonstrated that the airport will be able to cover its operating costs, even taking into consideration the fact that competitive airports are to be built nearby (such as that at Lublin), and that the local railway is to be modernized and a high-speed expressway to Warsaw is to be built.

The investment is supported by DEAR (Developing the Economies of Airport Regions) – the European Union project  established specifically for regions which want to create civilian airports based on existing military airports. The possibility of commissioning the Radom aviation terminal is also enhanced by the fact that the EU has set aside EUR 8 bln in its budget for the expansion of the number of airports in Poland. The grant will be available between 2007 and 2013, with Radom as a participant in the “Development of Airports and Ground Aviation Units” government programme becoming a beneficiary. The Province Assembly Office has promised more than EUR 8 mln for the expansion of the Sadków airport. But Rafał Grzeszczyk of Radom City Council remarks that: “It is impossible to say when the investment will be finished, with a lot of work still lying ahead.”