Companies of the Klaipeda free economic zone significantly contributing to economic performance

The companies based in the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone (FEZ) generated as much as a quarter of the Gross Domestic Product of Klaipeda County and 2.8 percent of GDP of Lithuania in the previous year. Total turnover of the Klaipeda FEZ companies amounted to 0.9 billion Euros in 2011.

Export volume of these companies in the last year accounted for 37.5 % of the exports of Klaipeda County and was in excess of 5 % of the total exports from Lithuania.

According to the data of Klaipeda FEZ, the companies of the free economic zone made investments in excess of 26 million EUR in 2011, and paid 9 million EUR in taxes to the state budget. Purchases of goods and services from the Lithuanian companies totaled 222 million Euros.  The total investment figures made by the FEZ based companies since the year 2002, when Klaipeda FEZ commenced its operations, stands at 0.5 billion Euros.

“It is more than evident that the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone makes a significant contribution to the national economy and, primarily, to the exports of Lithuania. The increase in the Lithuanian export potential is particularly important for the health of the Lithuanian economy. We are happy, and the supervisors of the national budget should be appeased by the efficient utilization of the public funds invested into the Klaipeda FEZ – public investment of 1 million EUR generated 99 million EUR of GDP”, said Mr. Povilas Vasiliauskas, Chairman of the Board of the Klaipeda FEZ Management Company.

As noticed Mr. P. Vasiliauskas, 21 companies with 1300 staff operating in the Klaipeda FEZ Klaipėdos achieved such impressive results given relatively small amount of investments of public funds allotted by the Government, Municipality and the European Union, they did not exceed 9 million Euros. It has been estimated that one hectare of the used territory in the Zone (58 ha of the Zone territory are in use today) generated on average 15 million EUR of GDP each in the previous year.

In addition to the direct contribution to the national economy made by the Zone companies, an especial significance acquires the so-called Multiplier Effect created by these companies – the taxes additionally paid by the county’s companies that receive additional orders from the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone. By estimation of experts, in the previous year alone an additional amount of over 20 million Euros in taxes was paid to the State budget, and nearly 800 additional jobs were created.