Mr Sobotka says Lublin will concentrate on advanced forms of BPO Courtesy of Lublin Investor Assistance Office

Martyna Olik: Lublin wants to compete for BPO projects with Wrocław, Warsaw and Kraków, cities well known among international investors. How do you plan to lure them?

Bartosz Sobotka: Lublin’s market is unsaturated – virgin even – and consulting companies describe it as having great potential.

One of Lublin’s strong advantages is its academic power. Not only are there 100,000 students here, but also a great variety of programs and universities.

How much success has the city had so far?

In 2009 Genpact, one of the biggest BPO companies in the world, opened its first center in Lublin. The firm’s decision to locate its investment in our city was the biggest success for us.

At the same time, the quality of services offered by local service centers has been recognized as being among the best in Europe. Attesting to this is the fact that TP’s accounting center in Lublin was awarded “Best New Captive Shared Services Organization – Winner 2009” during last year’s Shared Services Excellence Awards.

Does the city have enough office space and other infrastructure to support BPO investment?

I could agree that there are some deficiencies regarding infrastructure. However, some developers have gotten the green-light from the city to construct modern office space. At this moment there is an office park with 40,000 sqm of space under development. We are also discussing with commercial center managers the creation of more office space in less attractive commercial locations.

The nearest airport, in Warsaw, is about a two-hour drive from Lublin. But right now a new international airport is being developed here. In January a public tender for the construction of the runway was announced and the first flight is scheduled to depart in 2012.

What about knowledge process outsourcing [KPO]? Is the city working to attract these types of investments as well?

We are aware that the current trend in new locations for BPO investment is not going to last forever. Thus we are focusing on more advanced forms of BPOs, such as KPO, LPO [legal process outsourcing] and HPO [healthcare process outsourcing].

The main justification for siting an LPO investment here is the large population of law and administration students in our city. We have four institutions offering such studies, including two universities. ... In fact, Lublin could become a legal hub not only for Poland, but for Europe.

Another potential field is HPO. That’s primarily because the Medical University of Lublin has broad experience with telemedical services and also because of our 800 foreign students studying in English.

Is Lublin’s location on Poland’s “eastern wall” a disadvantage?

In recent opinion polls, Lublin was viewed better by people who had visited it before. Therefore, in my opinion the best way to deal with negative stereotypes connected with the eastern wall, is to get people to visit our city.

How much of a role does the Euro Park Mielec Special Economic Zone play in attracting investors?

The SEZ’s Lublin subzone was created quickly thanks to the determination of the local authorities. Soon after its establishment, three international companies were issued permits to operate within it.

Despite the economic slowdown, seven more permits were issued in 2009, constituting a third of all the permits issued by the Mielec SEZ last year. In addition, the local government’s efforts to create the Lublin subzone show that it wants to increase economic development, and not just in word but also in deed – to date the local government has invested about zł.80 million in infrastructure.

What targets have you set for foreign investments over the next few years?

Our goal is that within five years Lublin will become an emerging Europe-wide LPO and HPO services hub, with about 2,000 new jobs in the BPO sector. In the industrial sector we hope to develop approximately 60 ha of investment areas in the Lublin subzone.