If at first you don\u2019t succeed, try again. That seems to be Ukrainian multimillionaire Vasyl Khmelnytsky\u2019s maxim for his latest project: the construction of the Bila Tserkva Industrial Park.<\/p>\n
It will be the ex-Party of Regions member of parliament\u2019s second industrial park, to be built in the face of a tough investor climate.<\/p>\n
Located 80 kilometers southwest of Kyiv, the Bila Tserkva project will host industries including food manufacturing, pharmaceutical production and engineering projects.<\/p>\n
Among the 20 to 30 factories planned for what could eventually be expanded to a 500-hectare park will be Ukraine\u2019s first nanotechnology factory. It is planned to produce rods from sand that can be then used for building materials.<\/p>\n
Khmelnytsky\u2019s development company UDP \u2013 which was behind Kyiv\u2019s Zhuliany Airport and shopping centre Ocean Plaza \u2013 purchased the first 50 hectares of land earlier this year from Iranian businessman Ali Mohammed Khani Omran\u2019s Euro Finance Ltd. group.<\/p>\n
According to Khmelnytsky, the company planned to build a metallurgical factory there, but sold the land due to a bad economic climate for the industry.<\/p>\n
Two parks operating<\/strong><\/p>\n Khmelnytsky says he plans to add Bila Tserkva to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade\u2019s register of industrial parks in the coming months.<\/p>\n There are currently 15 industrial parks registered with the ministry, but only two are operating.<\/p>\n Among the 13 that are still in development is Khmelnytsky\u2019s first project, Bionic Hill, in Kyiv\u2019s Sviatoshynsky district.<\/p>\n Khmelnytsky said the project is currently frozen because of a lack of investors.<\/p>\n Although Khmelnytsky says Bionic Hill is technically not an industrial park \u2013 but a technology park \u2014 the development has been on the ministry\u2019s register since 2014.<\/p>\n Khmelnytsky admits he registered the project as an \u201cindustrial park\u201d to attract investors.<\/p>\n \u201cUkraine can\u2019t attract investors because there are big risks here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re a foreign investor and it\u2019s viable for you to produce something here, to get the land, get the infrastructure, electricity, water\u2026it will take two to three years at best, and that\u2019s if you don\u2019t run into corrupt schemes. A park has conditions that guard against corruption and has the infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n Khmelnytsky\u2019s innovation park was intended to become Ukraine\u2019s answer to California\u2019s Sillicon Valley, but was frozen in 2014. A smaller version of the park, Unit Factory, was set up in Kyiv earlier this year.<\/p>\n Tax breaks coming?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Verkhovna Rada adopted a bill to lift barriers to the creation of industrial parks in 2015. Meanwhile, two laws proposing tax breaks and customs benefits are currently on the docket in parliament. In spite of these moves, industry experts say Ukraine significantly lags behind its competitors and neighbors when it comes to investor incentives.<\/p>\n Khmelnytsky says while he backs the adoption of the legislation \u2013 which passed the first reading in October \u2013 he is confident his project will succeed even without the proposed incentives.<\/p>\n \u201cIf these laws are adopted, I\u2019ll have more investors. But if they\u2019re not, I\u2019ll have less but I\u2019ll still have them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Foreign interest<\/strong><\/p>\n He said the development has already attracted plenty of interest, with around 20 inquiries from potential investors including Turkish and Italian food processors.<\/p>\n He is confident that at least three of them are ready to sign on.<\/p>\n Furthermore, in October Chinese and Korean delegations visited the park, which resulted in the park and Korea\u2019s Jeonnam Technology Park management signing a memorandum \u201cconfirming mutual aspiration to further forge bilateral cooperation and facilitate business-to-business relations between the countries.\u201d<\/p>\n And despite the lack of investors halting Bionic Hill, Khmelnytsky maintains that Ukraine\u2019s economy is recovering and now is the right time to build Bila Tserkva.<\/p>\n \u2018A catastrophe\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n He wants to use the development to set an example of a successful industrial park model for the government.<\/p>\n \u201cI will make this park with no profits, because it\u2019s the first step to economic growth,\u201d he claimed. \u201cIn reality, the government should be doing this. But I want to create an example of how to do this, because I have experience. I\u2019ve travelled and I\u2019ve seen (how others do it).\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m ready to spend a little of my own money to make (Ukraine rich). To be successful, I need people to be rich\u2026 Right now people are becoming poorer, and it\u2019s a catastrophe for me as a businessman. I don\u2019t see any other alternatives.\u201d<\/p>\n