A further boost for Croatia’s impressive technology sector.
The conceptual design of the Pavilion 12 at the Zagreb Fair, which will be used as the Technology Park, was presented on Monday at the City Administration headquarters. Mayor of Zagreb Milan Bandić said that this was the real beginning of the redevelopment of the Zagreb Fair. Mayor announced that the Pavilion 12 will be turned into the Technology Park in the next several months. The project is worth about 10 million kuna, it will be financed by the City of Zagreb, and will be implemented in cooperation with the University of Zagreb. Young, innovative entrepreneurs will be able to use the entire infrastructure necessary for business operations, reports Poslovni.hr on December 1, 2015.
Stressing the importance of the Zagreb Fair as a visible and effective economic element of the city, Mayor Bandić explained that the goal of creating such a business environment is to foster science, research and innovation, which will ultimately result in prosperity of the city. “These parks represent the basic infrastructure for the development of knowledge-based society and will allow the city administration offices, universities and private companies to cooperate in the development, transfer and commercialization of technology”, he said. He pointed out that in the Technology Park entrepreneurs will be provided with various means of support, as well as advisory services from best consultants.
Vice-Rector of the University of Zagreb Miljenko Šimpraga gave his support to the initiative, pointing out that Zagreb ranks among those cities in the world which have recognized the importance of knowledge and innovation, and use them as the basis for their economic development. He said that just two months ago an agreement on cooperation between the University and the City has been signed. He expressed his wish for the Technology Park to be the core for future development.
In addition to a modern, modular and innovative infrastructure, new high-tech companies will also be provided with common areas, such as conference rooms and presentation areas. They will also have a common playground for children, a kitchenette and additional facilities. The goal is for anyone who has a good, innovative, enterprising idea to develop it there.
The businesses will be able to use the Technology Park free of charge for one year. After that period, they will probably have to pay a small fee, which will certainly be much less than the market fees for rental office space.
