These measures are part of a government plan to stimulate and develop new industrial parks, given that the value of investments into such spaces has declined in recent years.
The plan is to improve access to financing opportunities and fiscal incentives by extending the state aid scheme until 2020, from 2013 currently, and allowing large enterprises and/or infrastructure projects in industrial parks to apply for European Union funds.
At present, investments into industrial parks are supported by a series of fiscal incentives, such as tax waivers for taking the land out of the farming circuit and exemptions from the building and land taxes.
The state provides aid to companies pledging to maintain their investment for at least five years after completion, in the case of large enterprises, or three years, in the case of SMEs. Companies operating in ironworking, synthetic fiber production, shipbuilding, the coal industry, agriculture and fishing are not eligible for this aid.
However, four years ago, Romania notified the European Commission that this state aid scheme would be kept only until the end of 2013.
The plan also says the state would create five new industrial parks in the next five years, as well as expand five existing parks, through an initial investment of around 51.6 million lei (EUR12 million), creating 4200 new jobs.
Another plan is to create only two new parks and extend two others, in five years, through a combined investment of only RON20.6 million, creating 1500 new jobs.
To encourage the setup of industrial parks in disadvantaged development regions, the state is considering providing higher aid in such instances.
The operation of industrial parks was regulated in 2001 and so far 49 have been founded, hosting 760 companies and 36,839 employees. The parks were built both by local authorities and by associations of legal and natural persons.
Last week, the General Association of Romanian Industrial Parks (AGPIR) asked the Government and Parliament to draw up a law on access to European funds in these parks and reduce the co-financing required from county councils, the parks’ main shareholders.
Romanian foreign direct investment, or FDI, fell to EUR444 million in January to April, from EUR623 million in the year-earlier months. In 2010, foreign direct investment amounted to EUR2.596 billion, down 25.57% compared to 2009.