NEWS
Air Tune-ups

6 April 2005

■ Air Tune-ups
Aviation will be subject to radical changes with the introduction of new regulations by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The regulations lay the foundation for activity by independent small aircraft technical service centers. Similar to an automobile, every plane has to undergo a yearly inspection at a certified base.

“Up to now, identical procedures were binding both for small private aircraft and Boeings and Airbuses. Thanks to the new system, specialized bases will exist only for light planes. The service will become then considerably easier and cheaper,” says Ryszard Jaxa-Małachowski, deputy president of the Civil Aviation Authority (ULC).

According to the EASA instruction, by 2008 at the latest regulations of this kind must be adopted by all the European Union member countries. None has implemented the new regulations yet, but of the 25 EU members Poland is the most advanced. Polish firms stand a chance to enter a completely new market worth millions of euros a year.

Europe has about 45,000 registered aircraft, of which more than half are general aviation craft that could be serviced by these kinds of firms—including private planes belonging to aviation schools and crop dusting firms. In Poland, 83 bases are able to service light planes. At least a dozen of them can introduce EU standards. Poland's competitive advantage are its costs, which are two to three times lower than those in the West.


■ New Investors to ŁSSE
Quick-mix, the German mortar producer of the construction holding company Sievert, will build a plant in Rawa Mazowiecka within the Łódź Special Economic Zone (ŁSSE).

“We will invest 5 million euros and initially employ a staff of 20,” said Eugeniusz Maksim of the company's management board.

A Japanese automobile catalytic converter producer also plans to build a factory in Łódź, an investment worth 100 million euros and involving nearly 1,000 jobs. The project is scheduled for implementation in the fourth quarter of this year at the earliest on a 10-hectare lot in the Nowy Józefów district near the Gillette factory.a


■ Siemens Develops in Wrocław
Representatives of Siemens Wrocław have announced the launch of software production for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) third-generation telephony in the coming months. The plant has turned out mobile telephony software for three years and currently employs a staff of 300. The new production profile will increase employment by an additional 350 jobs by the end of September, mainly IT experts.


■ Mazurski Canal Reconstruction
Poland and Russia will apply jointly to the European Union for co-financing of the Mazurski Canal reconstruction project, worth approximately 20 million euros. The project calls for the reconstruction of the canal to connect the Great Mazurian Lakes with the Russian Pregolya River that flows into the Baltic Sea. The Mazurski Canal was designed by the Germans, who started construction in 1911 and were later interrupted by the two world wars. Only 51.3 kilometers of the canal was built, 22 km located in Poland.


■ Russia: New Foreign Currency Basket
The share of the euro in the currency basket used by the central bank of Russia for fixing the exchange rate of the ruble has increased from 10 percent to 20 percent, and that of the dollar decreased to 80 percent. The correction was made in the wake of the real appreciation of the ruble against the dollar: 5.8 percent last year.


■ FDI Into the Czech Republic
Foreign direct investment in the Czech Republic totaled 115 billion korunas, or about 3 billion euros, last year, twice as much as in 2003. EU countries accounted for 75 percent of the total amount. The leading investors in the Czech Republic are Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.


■ Profitable Customs
Polish customs offices contributed zl.71 billion to the national budget last year, 46 percent of total government receipts. Most of this revenue was from VAT and excise taxes.

After Poland's accession to the European Union, customs revenue is no longer classified as national budget revenue. Most of it is transferred to the EU budget. Poland retains 25 percent for Customs Service maintenance.


■ Mazovia Invests in Rail
Following negotiations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) concerning a zl.1 billion loan for the purchase of rolling stock for Koleje Mazowieckie, local government officials in Mazovia started talks with the European Investment Bank (EIB). The latter declared its readiness to lend up to zl.1 billion. The Mazovia government, the main shareholder in Koleje Mazowieckie, wants to buy 50 electric engines and 15 railbuses to operate peripheral lines.

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