Ústí region receives biggest investments in 2007

The Ústí region attracted investments worth nearly CZK 20 billion last year, making northern Bohemia the most successful area of the Czech Republic in terms of volume of new investments. According to statistics compiled by CzechInvest, 31 domestic and foreign investors chose the region. As a result of this, 6,508 new jobs will be created in coming years in the Ústí region, which has long suffered from above-average unemployment.

“These new investments will help to substantially reduce the unemployment rate, which at 11 percent continues to be the highest in the Czech Republic. It is a success of CzechInvest that most investments have been directed to regions where they are most needed,” says Alexandra Rudyšarová, acting CEO of CzechInvest. “Together with last year’s figures, companies in whose projects CzechInvest cooperated have already created jobs for 28,122 people in northern Bohemia.”

The greatest number of investors who decided for northern Bohemia last year are from Germany. With CzechInvest’s assistance, the Ústí region last year gained six such investors, whose projects are worth CZK 1.680 billion. Czech companies ranked second with five projects in the total value of more than CZK 2.083billion. The Ústí region is also popular among companies from Great Britain and the United States,as both countries accounted for four new investors here in 2007. The ranking of countries by number of investments thus mirrored the results of 2006. However, last year CzechInvest gained CZK 2.5 billion more in investment volume for northern Bohemia in comparison with the previous year.

new construction attracts new investors

“Investors continue to have strong interest in the Ústí region. The Japanese companies Hitachi and IPS Alpha launched production last year in Triangle, the region’s most important industrial zone, and the new CTPark Teplice industrial zone found its first two investors,” adds Rudyšarová. “The region’s future attractiveness will increase with the completion of the D8 highway from Prague to Dresden, the last section of which was begun last year. Since last July, transporters have also been able to use the new highway from Chomutov to the German border. Also very important for the future is the conversion of a brownfield – a former hospital in Ústí nad Labem – into a university campus. With better facilities, the University of Jan Envangelista Purkyně can thus substantially improve the level of education in the area, which will attract fresh talents and new companies to the Ústí region.”

Since its establishment, CzechInvest has acquired for the Ústí region 161 investors which have undertaken to invest CZK 110.549 billion and eventually employ 28,122 people. Over the course of its existence, the agency has taken part in 963 investments in the Czech Republic worth CZK 617 billion and directly creating a total of 187,837 jobs. Thousands more jobs are being created through related investments.