Major investment possibly coming to Slavonia.
A well-known German business group and one American investment fund are interested to set up a business zone in Croatia, in the area of geothermal springs in Babina Greda. The potential of the geothermal resources in this region has been recognized since the 1980s, reports Glas Slavonije on April 27, 2016.
The head of municipality Josip Krnić said that the letters of intent have been received, but he would not say the names of the two potential investors. Geotermalni Izvori company has been working on project documentation and on creating the conditions for foreign investors to enter the market for the last three years. The visit of the representatives of the German investor is expected in mid-May.
The biggest barrier for Babina Greda is the fact that 45 hectares of land around the drill hole are owned by the Republic of Croatia and the municipality is asking the state to transfer the ownership to them. There is one problem, however – a law provision stating that a new business zone cannot be established if another one already exists within 50 kilometres and over 50 percent of its capacity is not being used, which is exactly the situation in Babina Greda. However, Minister of Entrepreneurship Darko Horvat has promised to help them solve this issue by changing clauses into the law that would allow the municipality to take over the land and implement the project.
Minister Horvat also announced that he would give task to state companies to build the infrastructure in the business zone, as well as electricity, water supply and access roads. If this happens, Krnić said, the project should launch in five years.
“As soon as the land is turned over to the municipality, we will start the procedure to publish an international tender in Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung, where we will publish the plan for the zone. We already have a study on 800 pages, in which everything has been worked out in detail, from tomato production to aquaculture and catfish and eel breeding. So, the project exists, there is a preliminary plan for a spa, hippodrome, riding area and the area where Lipizzaner horses would be raised”, said Krnić. A year after the tender, he added, they would expect to sign an agreement and give construction rights to the investors. The municipality would earn income from this project, and a number of new jobs would be opened, Krnić pointed out.
