Currently, 24% of all office space in Łódź is being refurbished. For comparison, in Warsaw, it is only 4%. The report states: “Łódź ranks seventh in Poland in terms of modern office space, but is developing at an incredible pace. This is evidenced by the growing number of international investors such as Echo Investment, HB Reavis and Skanska”. Office buildings in Łódź occupy a total of over 460,000 sqm. In the years to come, this area is expected to increase by 300,000 sqm. As Dimitris Raptis, Deputy CEO of Globalworth, says: “As for the labour market, labour costs and the availability of qualified workforce are the key factors that make this city one of the best places to invest in Central and Eastern Europe. Łódź became the first target on the Polish market”. It was noted that the city offers 300 hectares of industrial space. This allows Łódź to be a key player on the Polish industrial market. In 2022, the largest industrial park in Central Europe will be opened. It is where the largest Bosch factory outside Germany will be located.
In 2017, Łódź was ranked third in the Prologissurvey ranking as the most desirable logistics location in Europe. It also took first place in the ranking outside Western Europe. Łódź is at the crossroads of two major trans-European transport network corridors: the Baltic-Adriatic route from Gdansk to Italy, and the North Sea-Baltic route from Belgium to Estonia. The author also notes that “Łódź boasts a direct rail connection with Chengdu in China. Trains take roughly 13 days to transport goods to China – far quicker than the 45 days required by maritime shipping”. Another Łódź’s advantage is its proximity to Warsaw. The recent redevelopment of Łódź Fabryczna station has cut the commute to the capitol to 70 minutes.
Łódź is one of the major academic centres in Poland. The report underlines that the city has a considerable talent pool. This is evidenced by prestigious universities, such as the Film School, or research and development centres, as well as by a well-developed technology sector and numerous start-ups. Many intensive research projects carried out in Łódź, the results of which are appreciated all over the world. These include research conduceted by Gust, a company that produces urban wind turbines. Its project won the Wind Turbine Contest three years in a row. In the meantime, Łódź Solar Team, the largest student project in Poland, built a prototype of an electric car powered by solar panels.
It is also worth noting that Łódź won the right to organize the prestigious World Horticultural Exhibition, Expo Horticultural 2024.
https://uml.lodz.pl/files/public/dla_biznesu/investlodz/fdi-lodz-revitalised.pdf
