A new €30 million football stadium was opened in Trnava. (source: Sme)
AUGUST
Luxury hotel brand Kempinski left Bratislava and was replaced by another luxury brand. As of August 1 the hotel on the Danube embankment of the financial group J&T became Grand Hotel River Park with the subtitle The Luxury Collection Hotel. Experts see the development on the Bratislava hotel market over the last few years as behind the change, but perceive the new brand as an adequate replacement.
The Jaguar Land Rover carmaker (JLR) announced on August 11 its selection of Nitra as the preferred location for a new €1.4 billion plant while it had already signed a letter of intent with the Slovak government for the potential development of a new manufacturing plant.
Spanish company Funderia Condals will try its luck in southern Slovakia after its plans in eastern Slovakia failed. Its new foundry should be built in the town of Štúrovo. The investment worth over €24 million will give work to 70 people in the first phase, later an increase to 350 is expected.
South Korean-owned Sungwoo Hitech Slovakia unveiled its plans to build a new production facility to increase its production capacity to manufacture components for the automotive industry in Žilina. As a consequence the labour force should increase from the current 760 by 300. In October a construction inspection found that the company launched construction without necessary permissions.
A new €30 million football stadium was opened in Trnava. The stadium with a capacity of 19,000 people and directly connected to a shopping mall is the first in Slovakia to meet the criteria of UEFA. Aside from football matches, the stadium will host other events like concerts.
After a sad year for Slovakia’s tourism industry when the number of travellers shrank during 2014, the first half of 2015 has brought better figures when the number of travellers choosing Slovakia as their holiday destination increased by almost 10 percent year on year. This means that the visiting rate exceeded the record year of 2013.
Bratislava joined 330 cities across the globe offering transport by Uber, a smartphone based service with drivers that use their own cars. Bratislava taxi drivers complained about the service, saying Uber drivers fail to meet legal requirements.
Italian energy group Enel began exclusive talks with Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH) about the sale of a stake in Slovenské Elektrárne (SE), Slovakia’s main electricity producer.
Brazilian producer of compressors, Embraco company, started building its first shared service centre in the world in Košice, investing €5 million and employing 150 people.
