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In Zakarpattya, an industrial park is planned for Berehovo and a tourism project for Mukachevo
On May 21, 2009, the fourth press conference on small-scale projects was held at the Uzhhorod Press Club. Two projects were detailed: the Bereg-Karpathy industrial park, which will be located in the Berehovo rayon and the Sobolch-Sotmar-Bereh region of Hungary; and the Mukachevo Tourism Information Centre.
The two projects discussed were selected last year by the Zakarpattya Oblast State Administration for further development and support for search for funding within the framework of the Zakarpattya Regional Development Strategy implementation. Originally, each rayon had an opportunity to present initiatives for tackling important social and economic problems in their respective area. Having selected 27 small-scale projects, participants of the Project Management and Strategy Implementation Training Program began to develop projects together with Ukrainian and international experts involved by the Regional Governance and Development (RGD) project.
Volodymyr Nesterovskiy, Lead Specialist of the Department of Economy of the Berehovo Rayon Administration, presented on the Bereg-Karpathy industrial park project. He explained that this project is unique in that it is located in both Ukraine and the Hungarian region of Sobolch-Sotmar-Bereh.
Each country has agreed to allocate 200 hectares for the industrial park. While a similar industrial park exists between the Hungarian and Austrian borders, this one is the first of its kind in Ukraine and other CIS countries. Based on a duty-free cross-border corridor, the project seeks to create an international industrial, economic, transportation and logistical zone. This will provide companies located in the region direct access to markets that were previously difficult to reach. An agreement has also been established that only environmentally friendly enterprises would be located in Bereg-Karpathy. Anticipated to create five-thousand jobs upon successful implementation, the first stage of the project is estimated to cost 770,000 US dollars; total project cost is estimated at 8 to 10 million US dollars. According to Matviy Kadar, Investment Project Manager of the Zakarpattya Oblast Agency for Attracting Investments and Economic Development of Territories, the industrial park will be operated by a professional management company. It will include warehouses as well as provide industrial and administrative buildings capable to accommodate a number of enterprises and companies with various operating cycles.
Another investment project was introduced by Natalia Galyant, Deputy Head of the Department of Economy, Mukachevo Rayon State Administration. The Mukachevo Tourism Information Centre, she explained, aims to develop touristic services in the area. Currently, thirty different tourist sites, including nine rural estates, operate in the area. While these have been relatively successful, there exists the need to provide potential tourists with sufficient information on tourist facilities in the area. For this purpose, a website will be created to provide information on the history of the area, its attractions, recreation facilities, camp-sites, resorts and SPA establishments. The website will also provide maps and descriptions of tourist routes; eight bicycle and pedestrian routes have already been established in the rayon. In addition to the website, leaflets in different languages will also be published and widely distributed. It is estimated that this project will cost 72,000 US dollars. Discussions with the Mukachevo City Council to cooperate on establishing a tourist information centre are also currently underway.
Providing the closing statement to the press, Svitlana Slava, RGD Regional Planning Expert, noted that both projects are relevant and useful for the development of the region. The Bereg-Karpathy industrial park project will allow for the production of high-quality goods as well as the creation of a highly qualified labor force. The Mukachevo rayon tourist project will contribute to improving the touristic image of the region, enhance the quality of tourist information services and facilitate the development of rural tourism in the region.
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