Local services
Richárd Szabados, Minister of State for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Development and Technology of the Ministry of National Economy, said at the press conference that if the small and medium-sized enterprises in Debrecen look like he saw on his trip here, it is reassuring for the future and the same ideas as in Debrecen should be implemented elsewhere.
He said he had already heard about plans for the second and third phases of the SME Park. He pointed out that economic growth is really about putting companies in a position and helping them in terms of location, infrastructure, or even tax issues so that it is worthwhile for them to invest, expand capacity, and build new production halls.
This was one of the reasons why the State Secretary visited Debrecen’s Southern Economic Zone, where the announcement of the SME Park project met with such a positive response from stakeholders that the number of people applying for the opportunity was reached in a day. In Debrecen, they can develop their businesses in a prosperous city. Richárd Szabados said Debrecen’s growth figures are exemplary over the last ten years, and this SME Park is a place anyone can proudly show off.
The Minister of State stressed that from the Government’s point of view, it is vital to support companies in areas where they cooperate with universities, local organisations, chambers of commerce, and business representative bodies. As a result, economic hubs offering business opportunities and model projects, such as the SME Park in Debrecen, can be created. The SME Park in Debrecen could be a perfect example for other cities and municipalities.
The government is planning an economic growth programme for the coming years, with the SME sector, which employs many people, as a dominant part. This sector should be supported in moving closer to large companies and becoming suppliers. In this spirit, the government has also contributed HUF 2 billion to the implementation of the SME Park in Debrecen, and the State Secretary said that the results of negotiations on the subsequent phases will also be very positive. Richárd Szabados believes that this development sends a very positive message to companies. To achieve the government’s minimum economic growth target of 3% next year, it is essential that consumption is boosted and investments increase.
They are also trying to launch a wage convergence programme through the housing and family support scheme to strengthen businesses. The elements of the Demján Sándor Programme are aimed at creating a programme for companies, in terms of both lending and support, capital availability and administrative reduction, which will enable them to consider whether it is worthwhile developing business in Hungary, whether it is worthwhile creating infrastructure in Hungary and whether it is worthwhile choosing locations in Hungary where developments can be carried out – as in this economic zone. Richárd Szabados congratulated the work done so far in Debrecen on behalf of himself and the Ministry of National Economy. He indicated that they would like to support similar programmes in the future, both here and in other areas of the country, as they share the common goal of developing businesses and achieving 3% economic growth in Hungary next year.
Mayor László Papp first introduced the location of the SME Park, the Southern Economic Zone of Debrecen. “I can safely say, without any modesty, that what we see around us here is one of the most important engines of the Hungarian economy in the future. He stressed that this 710-hectare economic zone and the large, small and medium-sized enterprises that will settle here will be of significant importance for the future of the Hungarian economy.
The mayor said that this industrial park will be complete within one or two years, and what is here will become part of our everyday life, one of the significant factors of Hungarian prosperity and development. The SME park, which will be created within the large industrial environment of the Southern Economic Zone, is the first stage of the SME park programme in Debrecen. This programme demonstrates the innovative capacity of the city’s economic governance colleague and the viability, development potential and strength of the SME sector in Debrecen and Hajdú-Bihar County.
As László Papp recalled, in 2021, thinking started on creating a small and medium-sized business park in Debrecen, close to a large industrial environment, where local SMEs would have the same conditions as large multinational companies. In this SME park, small and medium-sized enterprises in Debrecen and the county can move into the same infrastructure and other environmental conditions as multinational companies in the large industrial park. This SME park covers an area of 14 hectares, and contracts with the newcomers will be signed between May and October 2022. The Hungarian government is supporting the infrastructure development of this park with HUF 2 billion. The companies signed up for the industrial park in 24 hours and even oversubscribed, so the decision was taken to consider a second and third phase.
The SME Park is currently home to 16 SMEs building their production units, and of the 16, 11 are involved in manufacturing, 1 in logistics and 4 in industrial services. Demonstrating the strength of the SME sector, an investment of HUF 13.2 billion will be made, and 256 new jobs will be created in the first phase of the SME Park. The mayor said that they are pleased that the government, the Ministry of National Economy, sees this truly successful project as a model. It is good to see that factories and plants are being built in parallel with the infrastructure being built, and all this represents the development needs of the Hungarian-owned small and medium-sized enterprise sector. The mayor congratulated the local developers and promised that next year, the city hopes to launch the second phase of the Debrecen SME Park and is counting on the support of the Hungarian government.
Deputy Mayor Lajos Barcsa said that the city’s SME programme is comprehensive and does not end with the creation of the SME park, but the park is an essential element of the programme. He said that SMEs should be given special attention because they already play a significant role in Debrecen’s economy. “If you look at the number of partnerships alone, they account for more than 60 per cent of employment and well over 50 per cent of turnover. If they are doing well, their employees can work in better daily conditions,” he said. The deputy mayor pointed out that, in addition to creating the SME park, the city also launched a comprehensive training programme several years ago, the Business 2030 programme. It provides free training in some subjects for small and medium-sized enterprises. For example, a training course on management is currently underway. He encouraged many small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs to participate in these training courses. The city has also implemented a comprehensive supplier programme for several years. It connects local SMEs with large local companies – not only geographically but also by organising an annual event to allow them to talk to each other to help local SMEs become suppliers to large companies. On 19 November at the Nagyerdei Stadium, the city wants to offer us the opportunity to organise professional programmes in the morning and business-to-business meetings in the afternoon.
Richárd Szabados, Minister of State for Small and Medium Enterprise Development and Technology of the Ministry of National Economy, László Papp, Mayor of Debrecen, Lajos Barcsa, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, and Zoltán Pécskay, Managing Director of EDC Debrecen, visited the soon-to-be-completed Phase I of the Debrecen Small and Medium Enterprise Park on November 8, 2024.
Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu
