August 31, 2023 – On Wednesday, the Mayor of Osijek, Ivan Radić, visited the works on the construction of the IT business center, the central building of the Osijek IT Park. The mayor went there with his colleagues, contractors, and expert supervision. He expressed his satisfaction with what he saw and reported that the opening is expected in the middle of January next year.
“The building covers an area of 4,000 square meters and will have a modular conference hall with 305 seats that can be partitioned. There will be 30 offices, a coworking space, an IT laboratory, a cafe, and all the other facilities the Osijek IT community needs to continue growing. The value of the works is estimated at 8.5 million euros, of which even 4.4 million euros are grants from European Union funds,” said the mayor, emphasizing that the Osijek city administration is a partner of the Osijek IT community.
“The IT community in Osijek currently employs around 1,500 people, and our goal is for smaller companies that cannot afford to build facilities to use this IT park. This would help us achieve a synergistic effect to empower these companies to build their facilities and employ our fellow citizens. The Osijek IT scene and the entire economy would grow,” he added.
The Process
The mayor also pointed out that six of the nine parcels in the IT park have been leased, and the drafting of regulations for the lease of business offices in the central building of the park is underway.
Ante Ćurić from the company Massa d.o.o., who is carrying out the works, said that all is progressing according to the planned dynamics but also that they still have a lot of work to do.
“The most demanding part is the construction, where we’re left with about a month of work. The space is quite high, and there is a lot of concrete work, which is the most difficult part. After that come the finishing touches, although we’ve already started working on the facade, partition walls, and plaster. We’re happy with our progress so far”, said Ćurić.
Osijek It City: The Numbers
The president of Osijek Software City, Mihael Tomić, pointed out that the Osijek IT park is an essential item for Osijek’s IT sector, which has experienced a 50 percent growth in the past five years.
“In 2022, over 88 million euros in revenue was achieved, of which 50 million came from abroad. The realized profit is 11 million euros. The number of 1,500 employees only refers to the area of Osijek-Baranja County, not including freelancers and many businesses registered outside of Osijek. If we count them in, the figure exceeds 2,000 employed people,” asserted Tomić. He added that this building is coming at the right time.
“All these companies need somewhere to house their employees. In addition, the building will have excellent conditions for community development. There will be conference spaces for events and activities, workshops, and everything Osijek might need for a strong IT scene. The number of companies is also growing; we are currently at over 280 in 2022, and I believe we will exceed 300 this year. We will have companies gathered in one place, in one park. And since there isn’t another place like that in Croatia, Osijek is unique,” Tomić concluded.
