Pomeranian, a region stretching from northern Poland to the Baltic Sea, has established itself as a dynamic economy and fertile base for foreign investors, and is poised to become Poland’s main wind energy hub. Mieczysław Struk, Marshal of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, specifies the main pillars of the region’s investment promotion strategy, which focuses on infrastructure and talent.
Q: What are the main pillars of Pomeranian investment promotion strategy?
A: Pomeranian is one of the 25 fastest growing regions in Europe. We are creating a region open to investment in various sectors of the economy. We have a rich offer of investment areas and infrastructure ready to adapt to the needs of specific industries.
And the office space in the Tri-City portfolio has just surpassed one million square meters, with giants like Capgemini, Deloitte and Lufthansa opening departments here.
The region attracts investors not only with its infrastructure, but also with the availability of talent. Pomeranian is the largest academic center in northern Poland. The education system offers courses tailored to the needs of the labor market.
Due to the comfortable living conditions and attractive location of Pomeranian, more and more people, both experienced professionals and recent graduates, decide to move here. One thing attracts the other: investors are drawn to the availability of talent and employees are drawn to career development opportunities.
Q: What is the region’s strategy to attract technology investment?
A: Business centers like Torus and Olivia Business Center offer postmodern complementarity and co-working concepts. Modern spaces attract modern services. In addition, collaboration between companies and local universities is thriving.
IT-related courses attract more applicants every year. Recently, that number reached 8,000 students, which combined with the region’s siting strategy, results in more than 25,000 active IT developers in the market.
Large companies in the industry, such as Intel, engage in intensive educational activities, creating courses and majors profiled to meet the specific needs of the industry. It is worth noting that these needs continue to grow, as future employees well know. We attract investors, accompany them through the entire adjustment process in Pomerania and a selected talent pool awaits them on site, ready for development.
Q: Poland is currently the only country in Eastern Europe with a concrete offshore wind target. Are there any plans for wind projects off the Pomeranian coast and do you also plan to build a renewable energy supply chain?
A: Pomeranian is, of course, at the heart of a major project to diversify energy sources. Investments in offshore wind worth around PLN 130 billion (USD 27.7 billion) are planned on the Polish part of the Baltic Sea, offering a potential of more than 28 gigawatts.
Most of the turbines and the planned infrastructure will be built in Pomerania, which gives hope for dynamic development of the region in the coming years. Major shipyards and design offices have tailored their offerings to the needs of the offshore wind industry and have or will soon have the knowledge, experience and skills required to build offshore wind farms.
Of course, the specifics of offshore wind energy require the creation of appropriate energy infrastructure, the adaptation of the existing supply chain, or the construction and modification of port infrastructure. With this in mind, we rely on comprehensive cooperation with our foreign partners in the green transformation of Pomerania.
This article first appeared in the August/September 2022 print edition of fTu Intelligence. View a digital edition of the magazine here.
