The first round of project selection has been completed in the new support programme for large and medium-sized enterprises, in which it is possible to receive a loan with a capital discount of up to 10 million euro. With the 99.565 million euro funding allocated to the programme, 14 projects with a total estimated investment of 586 million euro can receive support.
The projects approved by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (IDAL) provide for the creation of 903 new jobs with a wage amounting to 1.5 times the average in the region, as well as investment in R&D enterprises of more than 17 million euro and ensuring exports of more than 328 million euro per year.
Currently, the Development Finance Institution Altum has started work on verifying lending conditions and the conclusion of contracts for these projects.
It is important that project applications have been received from all regions of Latvia – 5 projects in total from Riga and Pieriga region, 3 projects from Vidzeme and Zemgale region, 2 projects from Latgale region and 1 from Kurzeme region. Major investment projects approved come from sectors such as manufacture of veneer sheets and wood-based panels, manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products, manufacture of batteries and accumulators, printing, manufacture of electric domestic appliances, manufacture of plastic packing goods, manufacture of glass fibres, manufacture of concrete products for construction purposes, sawmilling and planing of wood, manufacture of wooden products, installation of industrial machinery and equipment.
Entrepreneurs are evaluating the new large investment project support programme in order to implement their ambitious projects and to create higher value added products here in Latvia. The projects submitted operate in high added value industries and will create new high-skilled jobs, promote innovation and the overall benefits of economic development,” the Minister of Economics Ilze Indriksone says. “An unexpectedly high number of project applications from all regions of Latvia have been submitted to the project. Unfortunately, only 14 can receive support under the programme, but I hope that other entrepreneurs will also have the entrepreneurial spirit to further develop their ideas”.
Entrepreneurs have shown great interest in the new support scheme and a total of 45 large investment projects have been applied. The projects applied are in line with RIS3, or high-value-added smart specialisation projects, and provide for the creation of new, well-paid jobs, while also providing investments in R&D and green technologies, as well as they are export-oriented.