Klaipeda introduces its ambitious new economic development strategy

A population increase of 40,000, a tripling of exports, 2,000 new companies committing 1.5 Billion Euros of investment. This is just a taste of the ambitious targets Klaipeda has set itself for 2030 in its newly published, “Klaipeda Economic Development Strategy 2030.”

The strategy, a product of co-operation between Klaipeda City Council, the Port of Klaipeda, Klaipeda University, Klaipeda Free Economic Zone, the Association of Klaipeda’s Industrialists, and Klaipeda Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Crafts, will serve as the framework for Klaipeda‘s economic development for the next decade.

With the creation of 25.000 new jobs also a key goal, the strategy lays out the priority industries it believes will be central to this growth – plastics and bioplastics, metal processing, electronics and automotive components. The city’s ambitions, however, do not stop there. Klaipeda‘s intention is to become a regional Industry 4.0 competence center that encompasses such areas as robotics, autonomous systems and industrial automation.

Eimantas Kiudulas, CEO of Klaipeda FEZ and a member of Klaipeda‘s strategy panel, applauded Klaipeda‘s pursuit of a clear vision forged in cooperation with key business, education and public stakeholders.

“Investors always want to know that a city has a vision. The fact that this vision came via creative collaboration with the City Council is a rare privilege that we applaud. Given how quickly we were able to build a strong panel and the many fruitful dialogues we’ve had, I believe Klaipeda is on the right track to becoming the kind of business-minded city that gets things done, “ Mr Kiudulas said

Vytautas Grubliauskas, the Mayor of Klaipeda, added, “I am delighted that our partners from different fields and a 100-strong team of various experts now share a single vision of Klaipeda. This strategy lays the foundation for a young, vibrant, flexible, business-minded and extremely livable city. “

A panel of partners, consultants and experts is now working on a strategy implementation plan that is due to be unveiled this spring.