Poland to benefit from 12 billion dollars of US investment

WARSAW (AFP) Apr 18, 2003
As part of a deal to buy 48 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter planes, Poland will benefit from an investment package with a real value of 12 billion dollars (11 billion euros), the Polish economy minister said on Friday.

"The nominal value of the compensatory (offset) investments comes to 7.5 billion dollars and its real value reaches the level of 12 billion dollars" over the next decade, Economy and Works Minister Jerzy Hausner said after the deal was signed.

Warsaw calculated the figure of 12 billion dollars using a complicated system of multipliers, which take into account the domino effect of initial investments.

Under the system, the more sophisticated the investment, the greater the estimated multiplicatory effect.

Under Polish law, procurement deals must be accompanied by such an "offset" deal in order to counterbalance the cost of the purchase to the country.

Both Washington and Warsaw hailed the compensatory investment package as the biggest ever.

The most important investments will be carried out in 2005, when their value should reach two billion dollars.

Exports and purchases of Polish projects make up 70 percent of the value of the offset accord, US investments in Poland 20 percent and technology transfers 10 percent.

The accord involves a total 43 cooperation projects, of which 17 are in the military sector and 26 in civilian industry.

In particular Poland is counting on cooperation in the high-tech sector, including blue lasers, a Polish speciality, and in the pharmaceuticals and telecommunications industries.

Although parties to the signature on Friday declined to go into details of the investment projects on grounds of commercial secrecy, Polish officials have in particular pointed to plans to transfer of the encrypted telecommunications system Tetra to Poland.

They have also signaled the creation of a computer research centre and a system of US support for local sophisticated techologies or adaptation to US technologies.

The Polish press has also talked about the transfer to Poland of production of General Motors' medium cylinder Opel Astra II car and modernisation of the Gdansk Refinery, Poland's second biggest.

Several Polish aeronautics factories should benefit from new production technologies and services.

SPACE.WIRE