On Monday, the construction of the Valaliky industrial park in the Košice-okolie district was inaugurated. Its first and largest investor is to be the car company Volvo. Eduard Heger, the interim Prime Minister, was also present. "The part of the construction work that is up to the state is starting. The investment contract includes the state's duty to prepare the site to a certain level so that Volvo can come and build its plant here. It's a very important event for us, we are starting real construction work aimed at making our strategic park a reality within a short time," said Miloslav Durec, an authorised representative of the company Valaliky Industrial Park. According to Durec, property relations in the area in which the work is already being carried out have already been settled. At the same time, additional plots of land are being bought, and the park's expansion towards its final size thus continues. The Swedish carmaker should invest some €1 billion in the park. So far, the state has allocated over €280 million for the industrial park and encouraged investments that should improve life in the region. "The money has gone to transport infrastructure and other induced investments related to water supply, sewage and other infrastructure necessary for the industrial park not only to function, but for this entire area to be a good place to work and live in," stated interim Economy Minister Karel Hirman. According to Heger, the industrial park and automotive plant will bring growth to the entire region, not only to eastern Slovakia, but also to parts of central Slovakia. He compared it to the setting up of the Volkswagen plant in Bratislava some 30 years ago. He believes that it will make the region significantly more competitive and attractive and will bring additional investments to it. Valaliky Industrial Park should become the home of modern sustainable production plants. The total number of new jobs to be created in the region thanks to the chief investor, Volvo, amounts to 12,000.
Source: TASR
