The Polyanska hromada of the Zakarpattia Oblast have designs on a world-class project on the dietary supplements production. To do this, it needs to find investors from six countries and change Ukrainian legislation. But the hromada head believes in success.

By Dmytro Synyak  

Ivan Drohobetskyi, head of the Polyanska AH in the Zakarpattia Oblast, told about the project of construction of the International Medical and Biotechnological Industrial Park "Innovative City of Longevity", worth of EUR 300-400 million:

“Here we will have residential buildings, here a laboratory will be located, and there – the rooms to conduct lectures and various scientific meetings,” tells Ivan Drohobetskyi enthusiastically. “Biologically active additives, so-called dietary supplements, will make the main product of our park. They are now insanely popular all over the world. A German Ayurvedic Clinics network has a huge interest in our project since it does everything to prevent a person from getting sick.”

“We have allocated 31 hectares for this park,” proceeds Ivan Drohobetskyi.

The AH head could allocate a vacant land plot o some developer – for a construction of cottages or a wind power plant. But he believes that it is not worthwhile to squander on trifles, since the profit the hromada can get from renting 31 hectares of rock mass is next to nothing. The head of the Polyanska AH wants to create a project that, while preserving the integrity of the local nature, will provide many jobs and create enormous added value. Then the jobs will be highly paid.

The search for investors is not the only issue of the head’s concern. He aims to initiate changes to Ukrainian legislation so that village councils could become founders of commercial structures and earn profits. Only then the Polyanska AH will be able to have a share in the grand international project that it plans to implement on its own territory. The village head is preparing a draft law to make it possible.

“We have sent proposals to all major European universities,” says Ivan Drohobetsky. “Almost every such institution has industrial parks, built including for grant funds. There is no such a large laboratory in Europe that we plan to build: the one where any European scientist could work for several months, observing immediately the processes of growing and producing biologically active additives.

The AH head is even more convinced in his project, since the University of Beijing not only expressed its desire to fully fund the construction of the lab, but also handed over part of the equipment for it: “several research machines worth millions of dollars”. The university transferred the equipment to the Uzhgorod University until the end of construction.

"We are against the Chinese monopoly in this project," he says. “God forbid, it will be a monopoly here! We want to know the opinion from Košice or Debrecen University. They should also have unhindered access to our laboratory. And all our partners should have such an access, and there must be some degree of parity between them. Thus, the village council should be the coordinator of this movement and its active participant, and not just allocate land for construction...

The project of the International MedBiotechIndustrial Park "Innovative City of Longevity" was developed by the Kyiv National University of Architecture and Construction, as well as the Kyiv University of Bioresources.

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