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NATURAL RESOURCES

The Voivodship of Silesia has got numerous mineral resources that provide the base for the mining industry which is the most developed in the country. There are deposits of hard coal and of limestone in the region. There are 60 coal mines, 19 steelworks, about a dozen of large power plants and non-ferrous metals mining and metallurgical plants.

The coal-bearing area covers the whole central part of the Voivodship and is divided into the Upper-Silsian Coal Basin and the Rybnik Coal Basin. Total resources are estimated at 70 billion tonnes. Due to increasingly less favourable conditions of mining and connected with that profitability, the production of hard coal is permanently falling. The coal mining and steel industry are subject to extensive restructuring processes. Exploitation of lean iron ores in the vicinity of Czestochowa was abandoned.



POST INDUSTRIAL AREAS AND OBJECTS


STRUCTURE OF ECONOMY
Sections Total Public sector Private sector
agriculture, hunting, forestry 4082 41 4041
fishing 38 1 37
mining 150 36 114
manufacturing activity 41 615 319 41 296
supplying electricity, gas and water 227 113 114
building industry 38 343 135 38 208
trade and repairs 140 815 90 140 725
hotels and restaurants 10 192 40 10 152
transport, warehousing and communication 29 255 116 29 139
financial intermediation 8 426 25 8 401
real estate and businesses services 40 918 2 365 38 553
public administration and national defence 1 002 713 289
education 6 020 2 086 3 934
health protection and social welfare 13 042 1 629 11 413
other activities 18 838 430 18 408
TOTAL 352 976 8 139 344 837


AVERAGE GROSS SALARY
PLN
mining 2 328,5
manufacturing activity 1 265,3
supplying electricity, gas and water 1 717,1
building industry 1 215,2
trade and repairs 1 078,9
transport, warehousing and communication 1 328,6
financial intermediation 1 855,5
public administration and national defence 1 580,3
education 1 099,7
health protection and social welfare 983,1
TOTAL 1 422,1


NUMBER OF SELF-EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS

Average monthly gross salary in the sector of enterprises (including obligatory social security contribution) in 1999 was in nominal terms slightly higher than in the previous year, while in real terms slightly lower. Last year the average gross salary amounted to PLN 1967.48 (PLN 2584.37 in the public sector and PLN 1612.94 in the private sector) and was higher by 5.1% than in the previous year.



PROFITABILITY OF BUSINESSES

The profitability of gross turnover during three quarters of 1999 in the industry was slightly lower than for the total surveyed businesses (minus 4.3% versus minus 1.7%), and the lowest profitability within industrial businesses was shown by mining entities - minus 18.4%. The profitability level in supplying electricity, water and gas was positive and amounted to 4%, while in the manufacturing activity was negative - 0.9%. In the building industry a profit at the level of 2.5% of revenues was recorded, while the corresponding factor in the similar period of the last year amounted to 4.1%. Relatively high profitability of gross turnover occurred in certain entities of market services, such as real estate and businesses service and the remaining municipal, social, individual services (5.0% and 5.9%, respectively).


The gross profitability of trade and repair businesses was low, although positive, and amounted to 1.3% of revenues. In transport, warehousing and communication the gross profitability was reduced compared with three quarters of 1998 from 1.6% to minus 1.6%.


35.3% of businesses have shown a gross loss and 64.7% a profit or zero result. In the entire industry these proportions were close (40% and 60%) but in the mining industry more than 64% have shown gross losses and only ca 36% a gross profit.



NUMBER OF COMPANIES WITH FOREIGN CAPITAL EMPLOYED
NUMBER OF BUSINESSES PERFORMING SERVICE ACTIVITIES
OUTSTANDING COUNTIES IN THE COUNTRY

In the area of the Voivodship of Silesia there are counties successful in the economic transformation. The following counties qualify to the group of the best 20% in the country:

In the Voivodship of Silesia there are 7 counties that are rated among national leaders of economic transformation. These are: Katowice, Bielsko-Biala, Tychy, Czestochowa, Sosnowiec, Dabrowa Gornicza and Gliwice.



MOST IMPORTANT EXPORT PRODUCTS OF THE VOIVODSHIP OF SILESIA INCLUDE

INFRASTRUCTURE

Approximately 50% of domestic railway traffic is carried out in this Voivodship. The railway junction in Tarnowskie Gory, rated among the largest in Europe, has got a crucial importance. Quick transfers between Bielsko-Biala, Katowice and Warsaw are possible thanks to the Central Trunk Line and between Katowice and Gdynia - thanks to the Port Trunk Line, by which most goods are shipped from the area of the Voivodship.


It is also noteworthy that in recent years the area adjacent to the wide-gauge track, so-called Metallurgical-Sulphur Line, have been economically activated. This may be used in extending economic relationships in the eastern direction. Terminal of the wide track has got a connection with the standard-gauge track that enables quick transhipment without necessity of their shunting. Its location (70 km from southern border of Poland, 280 km from eastern border and 400 km from the western), rail and road connection (40 km from airports in Katowice and Cracow, 60 km from an inland port in Gliwice and 550 km from Baltic ports) as well as technical equipment enabling reception of 18 goods trains during 24 hours, 4,000 tons of load each, that provides it a unique position in the European scale.

Within the Voivodship there is an inland port in Gliwice that via the Gliwice Channel is connected with the Oder River, and hence with ports: Szczecin and Owinoujocie. This port is located within the Free Customs Area, the area of which amounts to 47.6 ha. There are 12,000 sq.m of covered warehouse surface, a railway siding, a container terminal and port cranes.

Two main international routes will lead through the area of the Voivodship: east-west (A-4) and north-south (A-1).


In the area of the Voivodship of Silesia there are 43 border crossing points (31 to the Czech Republic and 12 to the Slovak Republic).

The transport attractiveness of the Voivodship is substantially raised by the Katowice International Airport in Pyrzowice and the nearness of the Cracow airport in Balice that provide quick connections with numerous regions of the whole world. At present the Katowice International Airport provides direct passenger connections with Warsaw, Frankfurt, Duesseldorf, Stuttgart and Vienna. Thanks to further transit connections one can get from Katowice in a convenient way to numerous cities on all continents. Moreover, a few dozen times in a month small aircrafts are flying within so-called General Aviation. Regular and charter overseas cargo flights are carried out from here thanks to existence of courier firms bases: DHL, TNT, UPS. In the tourist season charter flights are carried out to, e.g. Turkey, Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, Bulgaria, Majorca and Greek Islands.

Attempts are being made to start connections from the International Katowice Airport to Italy, France, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia.



SITUATION OF THE REGION WITHIN EUROPEAN ROAD AND RAILWAY RELATIONSHIP, IN WHICH THE UPPER SILESIA IS THE MAIN TRANSPORT JUNCTION IN THE CENTRAL EUROPE


VOIVODSHIP OF SILESIA - TRANSPORT SYSTEM

By 2003 the first module of a new passenger terminal shall be created with a target capacity of 1.5 - 2 million passengers a year.

From the airport in Balice near Cracow there are direct connections to Warsaw, Chicago, New York, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Rome, Tel Aviv, Vienna, Zurich, Copenhagen and Dresden.

The communication infrastructure has substantially improved in recent years. The number of newly installed telephones has been systematically increasing since 1993. The quality of telecommunication services has also been improving that is reflected in investors opinions, too. According to recent statistics the number of telephone subscribers in the Voivodship of Silesia exceeds 1,040,000 that means that there are 213.1 of them per 1000 inhabitants.

Farms in the Voivodship of Silesia are slightly better equipped with basic agricultural machinery than on average in the country. The average number of tractors (11.3) referred to 100 ha of arable land is higher by 23% than on average in Poland. The overall level of basic water-sewerage installations in farms is higher than on average in the country. As many as 70% of farms (i.e. 20% more than on average in Poland) draws water from public intakes and only 8% does not use a water-pipe network. At the same time only 7% of farms are not connected to the sewerage systems. This indicator is by as many as 15% better than on average in Poland.

The share of farms connected to 380V electrical network is slightly smaller than on average in the country. Such connections exist in 63% of farms, while on average in Poland this indicator amounts to 74%. The share of farms connected to the telephone network is close to the average in the country. The percentage of farms using the natural gas network is virtually double than on average in Poland.


The number of flats is very good (more than 325 flats per 1000 inhabitants - the 2nd place in the country).



Local infrastructure 1998
post and telecommunication units 747,0
subscribers of telephone lines:
                                    - in'000s.
                                    - per 1000 inhabitants

1 040,4
213,1
registered cars in '000s 1 157,6
village and town roads in km
                                    - of which surfaced roads
15 250,0
10 610,0


Municipal management 1998
length of distribution water-pipe network in km 17 092,0
length of sewerage systems in km 5 239,0
length of distribution gas network in towns in km 7 932,0
municipal sewage treatment plants 144,0
capacity of municipal sewage treatment plants in dam3 per year
of which: chemical, biological and with increased nutrients removal                                     
514 184,0

446 242,0


MUNICIPALITIES WITH HIGHEST INVESTMENT EXPENDITURES PER 1 INHABITANT IN PLN
No Municipality/city County Total investments in the period 59-98 per 1 inhabitant in PLN
1. Bojszowy Tychy 3 566
2. Ornontowice Mikolow 3 352
3. Mszana Wodzislaw 3 190
4. Goczalkowice-Zdroj Pszczyna 2 757
5. Marklowice Wodzislaw 2 664
6. Suszec Pszczyna 2 559
7. Gieraltowice Gliwice 2 402
8. Krupski Mlyn Tarnowskie Gory 2 186
9. Lekawica Zywiec 2 185
10. Bierun Tychy 2 154
11. Swinna Zywiec 2 151
12. Swierklany Rybnik 2 088
13. Wegierska Gorka Zywiec 2 049
14. Wisla Cieszyn 1 925
15. Kochanowice Lubliniec 1 845
16. Miedzna Pszczyna 1 824
17. Pawlowice Pszczyna 1 676
18. Lubliniec Lubliniec 1 541
19. Boronow Lubliniec 1 541
20. Czernichow Zywiec 1 524