Pardubice Region

The Pardubice Region is located in the eastern part of Bohemia, and, together with the regions of Hradec Králové and Liberec, forms the North-East Cohesion Region (NUTS 2). A part of the Region’s north-eastern border also forms the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The land area of 4 519 sq. km (5.7 % of the area of the CR) makes the Pardubice Region the fifth smallest region in the country. The Pardubice Region consists of four districts – Chrudim, Pardubice, Svitavy, and Ústí nad Orlicí.

The Region is characterised by its diversity of natural conditions, population density, and industrial and agricultural production. Future development of the Pardubice Region will benefit from the Region’s advantageous location, which is good for transport links. There are 542 km of railway tracks in the Region, the most important railway hubs including the towns of Pardubice and Česká Třebová, which form a part of the international railway corridor, Berlin-Prague-Brno-Vienna. Pardubice Airport, which serves both military and civilian air traffic, is key to the regional air transport. In 2017, Pardubice Airport reversed the unfavourable trend of the falling number of passengers cleared, when it processed 88 490 passengers, 180 per cent more than the previous year. Besides the Russian travel offices operating flights from Pardubice to St. Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, and Kazan, the positive results are partly due to the continuously fully occupied line operated by Ryanair to London and to the Red Wings airline with its flights to Moscow. The Pardubice Region has many prerequisites for the development of the tourist trade. The Region comprises beautiful landscape of both flat and mountainous character, a favourable climate and many opportunities for swimming, water sports, walking tours, cycling, and winter sports. Attractive tourist locations include the northern and eastern parts of the Ústí nad Orlicí District – the foothills of the Orlické hory Mountains, Buková hora Ski Region, and Sněžník Dolní Morava Ski Resort. Agrotourism, especially with an emphasis on traditional horse breeding, is developing throughout the entire Region (in the foothill areas). Every year, many visitors come to see the national stud farm in Kladruby nad Labem. Besides regular tours, the stud farm also organises various events for horse lovers. Tourist highlights in the Svitavy District include Svojanov Castle and Litomyšl Château, which has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List since 1999. The Pardubice racetrack, where the Velká Pardubická Steeplechase takes place, is the Region’s most famous sporting venue. In addition, the Region is the leader in many other sports.

Litomyšl Château

ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

The Region’s economy mainly depends on general engineering and electronics. The following industries are also represented: chemical, textile, clothing, leather manufacturing, and food-processing. However, the chemical industry, which has the highest share in national production, is the most important. The Region also has a tradition in the area of electrotechnical and electronic industries, linked with the Tesla trademark, on which a number of other companies also build. These companies have benefited primarily from the existing research and development base and skilled labour. Industry in the Pardubice Region is broadly diversified. In addition to the IVECO bus manufacturers, the automotive sector also plays an important role. Other important employers include AVX Czech Republic in Lanškroun (electrical engineering), Iveco Czech Republic in Vysoké Mýto, Synthesia Pardubice (chemical industry), Saint-Gobain Adfords CZ in Litomyšl (glassmaking), Rieter CZ in Ústí nad Orlicí (manufacture of textile machines and a sub-supplier to the automotive industry), OEZ in Letohrad (electrical engineering), KIEKERT-CS Pardubice with its centre of operations in Přelouč (automotive industry), Panasonic Mobile & Automotive Systems Pardubice (manufacturer of mobile phones and audio-visual equipment), Automotive Safety Components International in Jevíčko (sub-supplier to the automotive industry), and REHAU, s.r.o., in Moravská Třebová (automotive and plastics industries). Enterprises with well-known names include Paramo in Pardubice, Eta in Hlinsko, and Korado in Česká Třebová. Among the innovative companies with a global range of operations, the best known are the biotechnological Contipro Company, manufacturers of pursuit systems and radars (ERA a.s., RETIA, ELDIS Pardubice), and firms engaged in the area of explosives (Explosia, OZM Research). Start-ups with an ambition to set foot in world markets are usually firms engaged in the area of information technologies. In addition, there are hundreds of small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businessmen in the Region operating in production and services. Clusters play an important role in the development of modern technologies and in improving competitiveness. The Region comprises approximately 20 industrial parks. Businesses can make use of ‘brownfields’, i.e. space that has lost its original economic use. Brownfields tend to be large premises in bigger towns (most of them are available in Pardubice). The largest brownfields in the Region are usually former military areas. Pardubice City Industrial Park is situated on the western outskirts of Pardubice, some 6 kilometres from the city centre. It lies in the cadastre of Staré Čivice village, between the I/2 highway leading to Kolín and Prague and the Prague - Pardubice railway line, which is a part of the Berlin - Prague - Vienna international high-speed rail corridor. The Park is home to the Pardubice Scientific and Technological Park.

THE REGION AND THE EU

The Pardubice Region has several partner regions in other countries with which it cooperates on the basis of contracts. Between 2001 and 2004 contracts were

signed with the following regions: Prešov Self-Governing Region in Slovakia, Lower-Silesian Voivodeship in Poland, Region Centre in France, Tübingen Government Region and Reutlingen District in the Baden-Würtemberg Federal State in Germany and Abruzzo Region in Italy. In recent years the Region has significantly strengthened cooperation with another two regions, which are seeking to become engaged in the broader European area, specifically with the Transcarpathian Region of Ukraine (pojects for strengthening capacity) and with Guria Region in Georgia. Still before that the Pardubice Region realised a development project with another Georgian region, which was oriented on cooperation in education, tourism, and agriculture. It also cooperates with the Lower Silesia Vojvodeship in Poland, with which the Pardubice Region has a common border. Their cooperation is oriented especially on joint activities in the border regions, including the building of the infrastructure, modernisation of municipalities and the development of tourism and mutual cultural activities. Currently preparations are in progress to launch eleven projects within the ReactEU initiative. The most important of them is the construction of a pavilion for central urgent reception of patients with the centralisation of acute surgeries in the Pardubice hospital. Projects which have already been realised include, for example, the modernisation of road II(3 – bypass of Chvaletice, the Pardubice regional hospital company – multidisciplinary pavilion, revitalisation of the historical building of the Regional Museum in Litomyšl, opening of the Dašická sporting grounds, modernisation of a children´s home in Dolní Černá and the installation of an energy-saving system in the building of the Secondary Vocational School in Chrudim. In 2020, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced their plan to grant the Pardubice Region a loan to the amount of CZK two billion (approx. EUR 79.3 million) for financing the Region´s investment programme. Forty-five per cent of the loan, in combination with EU grants, will go into the sector of transport, 37 % into healthcare, 9 % into culture, and 9 % into energy saving projects. These investments will help to improve the quality and safety of roads in the Region, which until now have been underfunded for a long time. They will also be used for the renovation of key public buildings, which are physically obsolete and do not meet the required low energy performance standards, or they lack the necessary equipment for the provision of healthcare and social services, education, culture, and public administration. “The support provided by EIB, focused on connectivity within the Region, communication safety and improvement of healthcare in the Region will substantially help to raise the standard of living in the Region and improve its competitiveness,” said Lilyana Pavlova, Vice President of EIB, and added: “Also in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic we are glad that in the framework of this new programme of cooperation with the Pardubice Region we can give more than one-third of the financial costs for the modernisation of infrastructure in the area of healthcare. We also welcome the plans for the modernisation of buildings serving cultural and educational purposes, which is in harmony with EU priorities in the area of regional development and cohesion.” Projects for which the loan will be used include the construction of the central building for urgent reception of patients in the Pardubice hospital, the construction of a new aftercare hospital building in Moravská Třebová, modernisation of Winternitz automatic mills and projects for the reconstruction of lower-class roads. For a number of them, it is not possible to use subsidy from the Integrated Regional Operational Programme or the State Transport Infrastructure Fund. The new loan is another project, already the fourth, realised in the framework of long-term cooperation between EIB and the Pardubice Region. The total amount of money to be used for financing the modernisation of the infrastructure of the Pardubice Region with the help of EIB loans will be nearly CZK 5.5 billion (approximately EUR 202 million) over a period of 13 years.

EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS TO BE SUPPORTED WITH LOANS FROM EIB:

Healthcare Area

Pardubice Hospital – construction of a pavilion for central urgent reception of patients and concentration of acute surgeries Aftercare hospital in Moravská Třebová – construction of a new hospital building Transport Area:

Modernisation of road No. II/337 between Seč and Třemošnice (crossroad III/33741) Modernisation of road No II/315 between Skuhrov and Lanškroun (roundabout) Cultural Area:

Reconstruction of Winternitz mills to become a regional gallery; Pardubice Castle – use and reconstruction of the castle surroundings and the castle interiors Education Area:

Secondary School of Agriculture and Secondary Vocational School Chrudim – rainwater management and reconstruction of the roofs of Polička grammar school Energy Saving Area:

Reconstruction of Vocational Pedagogical School and Secondary Pedagogical School in Litomyšl and Secondary Medical School in Svitavy

USEFUL CONTACTS: Regional Authority of the Pardubice Region – www.pardubickykraj.cz University of Pardubice – www.upce.cz Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Pardubice Region – www.khkpce.cz City Authority of Pardubice – www.pardubice.eu Regional Development Agency for the Pardubice Region – www.rrapk.cz