Lublin - Economy

Economy

The Lublin region had the lowest per capita GDP in the European Union until Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007 (it was 32% of EU average in 2002). It is a part of eastern Poland, which has benefited less from the economic transformation after 1989 than regions of Poland located closer to Western Europe. While the standard of living in the city of Lublin is considerably higher than in the surrounding countryside, the city's relatively poor economic performance is tied to the poverty of its region.

Lublin is a regional center of IT companies. Thanks to near 100,000 university students each year and five universities that teach computer science Masters of Arts, Lublin has big supply of specialized work force. Average salary for specialists in Lublin is 2/3 of that in Warsaw (+- 3000 PLN brutto for programmers for example). That makes it a great place for IT companies, and there are many such companies already. Asseco Business Solutions S.A., eLeader Sp z o.o., CompuGroup Medical Polska Sp. z o.o., Abak-Soft Sp. z o.o. and others have their headquarters there. Other companies (for example Comarch S.A., Britenet Sp. z o.o., Simple S.A., Asseco Poland S.A.) outsourced to Lublin, to take advantage of cheap, educated specialists.

Factories built under the Communist regime in the city have performed poorly in the new market economy. The large car factory FSC (Fabryka Samochodów Ciężarowych) seemed to have a brighter future when acquired by the South Korean Daewoo conglomerate in the early 1990s. With Daewoo's financial troubles in 1998 related to the Asian financial crisis, the production at FSC practically collapsed and the factory entered bankruptcy. Efforts to restart its van production succeeded when the engine supplier bought the company to keep its prime market. With the decline of Lublin as a regional industrial centre, the city's economy is being reoriented toward the service industries. Currently, the largest employer is the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University (UMCS).

The prices of land and investing costs are lower than in western Poland. However, the Lublin area is one of main beneficiaries of the EU development funds. Jerzy Kwiecinski, the deputy secretary of state in the Ministry for Regional Development at the Conference of the Ministry for Regional Development (Poland in the European Union — new possibilities for foreign investors) said:

“In the immediate financial outlook, between 2007 and 2013, we will be the largest beneficiaries of the EU — every fifth Euro will be spent in Poland. In total, we will have at our disposal 120 billion EUR, assigned exclusively for post development activities. This sum will be an enormous boost for our country”.

In September 2007, the prime minister signed a bill creating a special economic investment zone in Lublin that offers tax incentives. It is part of “Park Mielec” — the European Economic Development area. At least 13 large companies had declared their wish to invest here, e.g., Carrefour, Comarch, Safo, Asseco, Aliplast, Herbapol and Perła Browary Lubelskie. At the same time, the energy giant Polska Grupa Energetyczna, which will build Poland's first nuclear power station, is to have its main offices in Lublin.

New shopping centres built in Lublin are Lublin Plaza and Galeria Gala, the largest shopping centre in the city, covering 33500 square metres. Similar investments are planned for the near future such as Park Felin (Felicity) and a new gallery ("Alchemy") between Świętoduska and Lubartowska streets.