We would like to present the catalogue prepared by the Office of the Government Plenipotentiary for the conversion of estates taken over from the Army of the Russian Federation. This includes information about the property offered for sale which is attractive to all kinds of businesses. These properties are located on areas, formerly military bases belonging to the Army of the Russian Federation in the west and south-west of Poland. These areas qualify as grade 1 with regard to investment opportunities. In particular, the areas offer good prospects for economic development, due to their convenient location on the border with Western Europe and the European Union.

Transportation, tourism, industry and agriculture are the most important economic sectors represented in these areas. As a result of the significance of transportation for all economic areas, the local authorities have put an emphasis on the development and modernisation of the surrounding infrastructure. In order to make it possible for this to function more efficiently, investments within the transportation sector are planned and should include the modernisation of the existing arterial routes and construction of new roads, railway, sea and air routes. Among the planned investments, particular attention should be given to the construction work on the A3 motorway: Szczecin ­ Gorzów Wielkopolski ­ Świebodzin ­ Zielona Góra ­ Lublin ­ Legnica ­ Lubawka (on the border), and the realisation of the "Programme for the development of the Oder water route, prior to 2005".

The Government has created a climate to encourage economic enterprises interested in investing in these areas, by establishing legal provisions favourable to such investment, subsidising the local infrastructure and providing the financial means to protect the environment.

The problems of revenue obtained from the areas formerly belonging to the Army of the Russian Federation and their management, are regulated by the Law of 10th June 1994, on the Management of State Treasury Property Acquired from the Army of the Russian Federation (Journal of Laws no. 79, pos. 363, change: no. 106/1998, pos. 668). While defining the detailed requirements and procedures of how to deal with these estates, taken over from the Russian Federation Army, the law also provides favourable investment conditions due to:

• a simplified selling procedure,
• the possibility to divide the price into yearly instalments over a period of 10 years,
• the possibility to obtain exemption from real estate tax for a period of 3 years,

The legal status of the buildings and areas offered for sale is regulated, qualified in the property registers as non-forest and non agriculture land. Therefore, there is no necessity to exclude this land from agriculture assignments or to pay additional payments for de-agriculturing. There is a possibility to rent lease of give over the land for hereditary tenure or to buy the entire estate.

The areas have been examined as far as ecological contamination and pollution are concerned. In order to make it easier to remove ecological damage, the "Recultivation programme for areas destroyed by the Army of the Russian Federation" has been established, and is realised by the Minister for Protection of the Environment, Natural Resources and Forestry. The work to remove contamination, financed by the State Treasury from the budget, are currently underway.

The investment offer from the local authorities and communities acting on behalf of the State Treasury encourages to invest in the following areas:

• residential buildings,
• service and industrial investments, development of small and medium sized enterprises,
• tourism, sport and recreation investments,

The analysis of the gathered material suggests that in fact in every former garrison, there are objects worth managing. This could result in considerable economic and social profits, provided that they have an appropriate investor.

In case, you are interested in any of the investment proposals offered, you are invited for negotiations to define the preferred management method for the areas designated for investment, as well as the form of acquisition (sale, heritary tenure, lease), other forms of cooperation.