Business

Liepaja is a city successfully combining manufacturing traditions, an ice-free port, great intellectual potential and rich historical and cultural heritage. The recent years have marked development of the city – it has become tidier, new public facilities have been opened, local community takes pride in their city and its future.

The economic development of Liepaja is based on traditional industrial infrastructure, adding the possibilities of port. The largest amount of foreign investments has been made in industry – 69% of the total investment has been made in metal production, 9% - in textile production. Investments have also been made in trade (4%) and construction (5%).

Another indicator of development is the volume of construction. In 2004 it has been 23.3 million lats compared to 4.2 million lats in 1995. Increase in the construction volume has been especially high in the port. Construction of new modern terminals and port dredging has increased the competitiveness of Liepaja port, the results of which can be seen already now – the increase in port cargo turnover reached 33.1% in 2003.

Liepaja has many tools for development and one of the most promising is Liepaja Special Economic Zone, which offers many tax incentives and other kinds of assistance for companies wanting to establish business on its territory