870 jobs for citizens of Leskovac - Germany's Lemex, Pediment Holdings from the USA, Arilje-based Healthy Fruit to build cold storage plants

(Leskovac)

Five companies have already expressed interest in investing in Leskovac-based Zelena Zona (Green Zone), which is designed to host purchase and processing centers, as well as storage facilities for agricultural products. Germany's Lemex, U.S. Pediment Holdings, Healthy Fruit from Arilje, Russia's Progressgas Trading and Italy's Matielo have submitted their letters of intent, Maja Kocic from the Leskovac Agency for Local Economic Development announces for eKapija.

In the industrial zone spanning 100 hectares, which is currently being equipped with primary infrastructure, the company Lemex plans to have a 3-hectare cold storage plant built, with the capacity of 600 cars, and employ 120 people at that facility. Healthy Fruit intends to build a EUR 2 million cold storage plant spanning about 2 hectares, at which about 50 people would get a job.

The company Pediment Holdings is interested in building a purchase center, which would also be equipped with a cooling plant, and it requires 10 hectares of building land for that project. If their plans come true, as many as 700 people living in the municipality of Leskovac will get a job.

Italy's Matielo and Russia's Progressgas Trading have not revealed the details of their plans yet.

- We are close to finish the equipping of Green Zone with infrastructure – electric and power supply grid, plumbing and sewerage, internal roads with pavements and lighting, and gas installations. This part of the project is worth EUR 1.08 million - says our interlocutor.

She adds that the city is negotiating with several other investors whose names are still kept secret.

The construction of a new Green Agribusiness Zone will create conditions for the development of the agrarian sector and improve the business environment through creation of a stable agricultural products market.

- The opening of such distribution zone, which will gather all buyers of agricultural products at one place, will also greatly benefit manufacturers who will know in advance the amount, price and buyer of their products – Maja Kocic explains for our web portal.

All infrastructure and equipping works on that zone will be completed until March 2012.

A great advantage of this industrial zone is, primarily, its good connection with important traffic routes. The main route M1 divides this area into two approximately equal wholes. There is also a railroad bordering the zone on its western side.

The Veternica river borders the zone on its southern and eastern sides.

Even easier for investors

As eKapija learns, the agenda for a meeting of the City Assembly of Leskovac on Friday (November 4, 2011) will include a new Amendment to the Decision on Building Land, which will significantly lower the fee for infrastructure equipment and provide additional benefits for production facilities.

EUR 22 million for a solution to the problem of wastewater

The Leskovac authorities, led by Mayor Slobodan Kocic, have also prepared a wastewater management project. The expansion of sewerage and the construction of a wastewater treatment plant, for which about EUR 22 million are required, will be financed by the European Commission, the Environment Protection Fund of the Republic of Serbia, the Dutch Development Agency, and Leskovac itself with about EUR 1 million. The whole project will be implemented until 2013.

(locations in the future zone)

The expansion of sewerage will significantly raise the standard of services, and about 20,000 new users will be connected to the system.

- The future wastewater treatment plant will be treating communal, pre-treated industrial wastewater and, partially, rainwater – says Maja Kocic.

The mud resulting from the treatment process will be used as an organic fertilizer.

Geothermal water to heat apartments, greenhouses and offices

Leskovac "lies" on geothermal waters that could be utilized, if investors were found for a project worth EUR 1.1 million, to heat residential and office space, as well as greenhouses producing early fruits and vegetables.

An earlier research shows that thermal waters whose temperature is between 70 and 90 degrees Centigrade are located at the depth of between 1,200 and 1,500 meters. It would take about 2 years to implement a project including geophysical explorations, digging of an exploratory well, and specialist exploration works.

Support to small enterprises

The town on the bank of the Veternica river plans to use the extra money, which will be paid to the city budget thanks to new provisions of the Law on Local Self-Government, to provide support to small enterprises.

- Since Leskovac already helps large investors in various ways - by freeing them from paying local taxes and charging a minimum fee for infrastructure equipment, we plan to use that extra money to provide new reliefs for small enterprises in our municipality – Maja Kocic reveals for eKapija.

M.S.