ANALYSIS OF THE ARAD COUNTY s INVESTMENT POTENTIAL Investor's Guide

Transcription

1 ANALYSIS OF THE ARAD COUNTY s INVESTMENT POTENTIAL Investor's Guide Situated in the western part of Romania, at the border with Hungary, Arad is the sixth largest county of Romania, having an important strategic position. Geographically, Arad County has a low relief without having significant high relief. Arad County has important natural resources, hydrocarbon deposits such as mineral waters, and so on. In terms of population, the county has 409,072 inhabitants (according to the 2011 census), more than half being part of the urban environment. At administrative level, the county comprises 10 cities, including 1 municipality, 68 communes and 270 villages. The infrastructure of the county is directly influenced by the European road and rail corridors, and the county's role is to ensure the interconnection between Hungary and Romania, both by rail and by road. The opening of the AradTimişoara highway and the Arad belt at the highway level have significantly facilitated road traffic, especially freight traffic, which enters and leaves the country at Nadlac. Highway Arad Pecica ensures connection with Hungary. Arad County also has an international airport serving passenger and freight transport in domestic and international traffic. One of the advantages of Arad International Airport is that it is less than 100m from the road junction that connects with the A1 highway and 4 km from the center of Arad. At the railway level, the Bucharest - Brasov - Sibiu - Deva - Arad - Curtici line, with continuation in Hungary to Budapest (fully electrified), is the most important on the territory of the county, being the beneficiary of a European financing for modernization as part of the European corridor railway transport. From economic point of view, the most developed areas are the automotive industry, the food industry, the textile industry, the wood processing industry, research, development and hightech. Besides industry, services and agriculture are among the most developed areas. The first places in the top of the companies, after the turnover in 2017, are Takata Romania - Japanese- German capital (2,572,562,638 lei), Coficab Eastern Europe - Luxembourg capital (1,414,363,698 lei), Key Safety Systems RO - italian capital (1,140,302,229 lei), Webasto Romania - German capital (1,060,824,897 lei), Yazaki - Japanese capital (781,972,562 lei). Among the top employers, the top positions are Takata Romania (4830 employees), Leoni Wiring Systems Arad (3788 employees), KROMBERG & SCHUBERT ROMANIA SRL (3019 employees) and ASTRA RAIL INDUSTRIES (2366 employees).

2 Regarding the main investors home countries they are mostly European, German companies dominate the ranking of the largest companies in the county. The progress of Arad County is remarkable, the figures representing the unemployment and development of this county are positive, and the outlook is of improvement. Arad is the main gateway to Romania, being the most important road and rail junction in the west of the country. Thus, Arad is located 17 km from Curtici - the largest railway customs point in the western part of the country. Arad also enjoys extremely easy access to border crossings by road and by air. The nearest border points are by road: Turnu locality at a distance of 20.3 km, Nădlac town at a distance of 54 km, and Vārsand at a distance of 68 km. An important border crossing point is the Arad International Airport, which has a 2,000 meter track /runway. Why invest in Arad? Geographical aspects Geographical position - Situated in the western extremity of the country, a national and European hub of the road and rail network Qualified labor The existence of a variety of local raw materials: rich and various underground resources (metal ores, precious metals, construction materials), wood, agricultural products, etc. Industrial tradition: especially in the machine building industry, light industry (food, textiles, footwear) and processing industries (metals, wood, building materials) Diversifying business areas of companies Existence of an infrastructure to support the economic activity: Curtici-Arad Free Zone, Industrial Zone, Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture of Arad County, Exhibition Complex, consultancy firms, economic development and promotion agencies of Arad County Strong industrial structures that facilitate inter-branch cooperation Agriculture High soil quality Large share of agricultural area Large predominance of agricultural and forest areas Diversity of relief: - field (crops of cereals, technical plants, vegetables, vegetables) - hill (wine and fruit growing area, livestock breeding) - mountain (zootechnics, plants and forest fruits, wood exploitation) Minis-Măderat vineyard area with recognized varieties Tradition in the practice of agriculture Network channels for irrigation, fisheries The existence of a cadastral base

3 Rich hydrographic network on the territory of Arad County, over the country average Forest covered with hardwood, acacia, acacia, maple, ash, walnut, lime, poplar and protection forests along the valleys of Mureş and Crisul Alb Forestry roads that allow forestry maintenance and forestry transport Planting against corrosion Big venison (carpathian deer, raven, boar) and small game (pheasant, partridge) Protected areas (dendrological parks, nature reserves) Hospitality of the population Traditional handicraft and handicraft areas that preserve local specifics Livestock over the country average, reported on agricultural land Turism Road infrastructure (national and European modernised roads and geographical position favours the development of transit and business tourism) Historical Monuments: Citadel of Arad, ruins of Şoimoş fortresses, Syria, wooden churches, monuments Geothermal and Mineral water resources Two resorts for spa Tourism (the village of local interest and Moneasa-resort of regional interest) potential for cultural tourism Building the connecting motorway with the EU possibilities of forest-tourismcreşterea interesului turiştilor străini pentru România Developing a good quality base in business tourism and agritourism Developing cross-border cooperation in tourism EU non-reimbursable funds for tourism development Existence of programs and specialized structures in the field of tourism promotion and information Existence of higher education in the field Existence of training and professional training programs in the field of tourism Improving access to the sights by modernizing and building roads Variety of landscape (alternating hill-plain-mountain) Minis vineyard where wine tastings are organized Hunting Fund and Salmonicol, natural reserves Nature is largely well preserved and unpolluted Capacity to communicate in other languages of international circulation (English, German, French) of the inhabitants Existence of public catering units and diversified services Existence of special urban recreation areas: Arad, with recreational activities especially for young people, Mureş river, Ceala forest, and lakes as Ghioroc or Tauţ Existence of training and professional training programs in the field of tourism

4 Economic sectors Strong private sector development in trade and services Developed IT services Existence of a large number of foreign investors in services and commerce Services developed in the legal field Diversified financial-banking services Diversified construction and construction materials sector Improved public catering services, the emergence of youth facilities (computer clubs, discotheques, recreational areas in the pool) Developing media services (newspapers, magazines and local TV stations) The emergence of shopping centers Human Resources Positive balance of the net migration of the population in the county The dynamics of the labor market determined by the economic dynamics of the county Existence of medium and higher education centers of tradition The existence of a tradition of encouraging investment in human capital Numerous and diversified workforce reserves made especially through initial training in the public education system Continuity in the practice of qualification and retraining of the labor force Existence of qualified specialists in career counseling and reorientation Relatively low unemployment rate below the country average Good absorption capacity of information and innovation Good diffusion of innovation and entrepreneurial behavior Concentration of human resources (and activities) in the county residence Infrastructure Road traffic of national and European importance Railways of national and European importance Arad International Aviation Management Center, the largest in S-E Europe Arad International Airport that can support short, medium and long distance air traffic Four border crossing points Accessibility of cities and main rural centers / localities to railways and county and national roads Centralized heat supply systems are non-polluting Considering the free capacities in electricity transport, potential consumption increases are possible without significant investments in the field of electricity transmission Appropriate infrastructure for the exploitation of underground water resources (high quality drinking water supply of high quality) Educațtion Public and private higher education - two universities with a technical, economic and human profile Long-lasting school tradition - especially real-life disciplines and vocational education,

5 including in the languages of national minorities Extensive network of preschool, primary, secondary and vocational education Culture Old and consecrated cultural, historical, ethnic, folkloric traditions Existence of cultural institutions especially in the city of Arad (libraries, theaters, philharmonic, museums, ecclesiastical settlements, historical monuments) Existence of multiethnic cultural traditions, traditional harbors, artisan crafts, folk theater, literature, music, dance Sports Diverse sports facilities (sports stadiums and sports grounds, sports clubs and bases, covered swimming pool, TIR Polygon, Aeronautical Club, etc.) Sports tradition Social Diversified specialized services in healthcare, over the country average Increase the number of private offices and medical structures with European standards Starting a partnership between public administration and NGOs to solve social problems Use of community and extra community resources to improve social issues Cooperation with international bodies in the social field