Oradea, a university city in north west Romania, is attracting attention particularly among European auto manufacturers and their suppliers.
For local development agency ADLO (Agenția de Dezvoltare Locală Oradea), promoting the city region’s industrial facilities is a major preoccupation.
“By the end of this year we will have 11 industrial platforms,” said Adlo general director Alina Silaghi. This creates a wide range of opportunities for buying land and investing in the city and surrounding county as well as the possibility of obtaining state aid, she explained.
“It’s a very attractive state scheme because it’s cash back for all investors. Also within our industrial platforms, we are giving incentives. This means tax-free land and building and a lot of supporting services,” Silaghi added.
Talking to Real Asset Insight’s Courtney Fingar, she said that there are now more than 115 companies within Oradea’s industrial platforms employing about 10,000 people. “And we are still developing new areas.”
One attraction of the city is its accessibility and proximity to the border with Hungary, 10km away.
“We are involved in a lot of new projects such as an intermodal project which helps with logistic costs. Also a new cargo terminal will be functional by the end of this year.”
Silaghi also pointed out that there are a large number of research and development projects underway – the city has four universities, one of which is state owned, the others private.
“It’s a vibrant city,” she said. “The city invested a lot in infrastructure and increasing quality of life, good transport and green areas for spending time after work.”
Oradea has attracted a mix of investors, both Romanian and those from further afield including elsewhere in Europe, Asia and the USA.
“BMW is to open a new factory at Debrecen [Hungary] which is 70 Km from Oradea and a lot of their suppliers are now searching for a new plant.”
