On March 15, 2016, the Pilsen Region won the award in the fDi Magazine’s European Cities and Regions of the Future ranking for investment support and business development strategy. The Pilsen Region ranked second behind Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in the small regions category. The President of the Pilsen Region Václav Šlajs accepted the prize at the awards ceremony in Cannes.
A committee composed of economists, analysts and specialists in the public sector or regional development has evaluated incentives for investors or promotion activities aiming to increase interest in the region. This evaluation is performed for the fDi Magazine, published by the Financial Times, every two years and the Pilsen Region with 1.5 million inhabitants gained silver in this year´s ranking.
The awards ceremony in Cannes, France was held during the 27th MIPIM´s real estate fair, one of the biggest fairs of its kind in the EU where key players from investment world meet. Plzeň, Ostrava and Brno received smaller awards.
“The Pilsen Region was the first region in the Czech Republic to approve a regional Master plan. Thanks to this Master plan we were able to start up the interest of investors in available land, especially alongside an expressway. Cities or developers provided some land with infrastructure and offered land plots to investors“, says Head of the Regional Development Department of the Pilsen Region Miloslav Michalec, adding that a wide range of land provided with infrastructure and direct connection to expressway was the key point that lured investors to the Pilsen Region.
The important part of the Pilsen Region´s strategy is to provide good information to investors. Land for sale offers are published on the Pilsen Region websites. Moreover, a digital map of public administration, administrated by the Pilsen Region, which could be used as a map base for making a good decision on investment project location, is a useful tool of the regional strategy. "CzechInvest and the Regional Development Agency of the Pilsen Region also help us provide information to investors “, explains Miloslav Michalec. Furthermore, presentations of the Pilsen Region have been also made at fairs in the Czech Republic as well as abroad where, according to Miloslav Michalec, people are keen on getting information on industrial zones
“Connection to the D5 expressway and a strong industrial tradition contribute to the development of our region. On every occasion we emphasize that employers call for technically skilled graduates of secondary schools and universities“, says the President of the Pilsen Region Václav Šlajs. “Unemployment in the Pilsen Region is the second lowest behind Prague. It is necessary to pay attention to cross-border regional areas, such as e.g. Sušice district, and to improve transportation that will make commuting easier. Companies can also participate in providing transportation for commuters“, explains the President of the Pilsen Region. „In any case, we are very pleased by our success in the fDi Magazine’s European Cities and Regions of the Future ranking and it is both a commitment and motivation to continue in current activities“, sums up Václav Šlajs.
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