Located in the centre of the country, the Pardubice region offers an easy access to all parts of the Czech Republic.
The city of Pardubice is a major railway hub on the Berlin – Prague – Vienna rail corridor. The region has no motorway – the D11 motorway linking Prague with Poland currently stops some 20 km west of the region – but there is a good network of 1st class roads. The planned construction of the R35 highway connecting the D11 motorway with Olomouc will further improve the transport infrastructure in the region. An international airport and the duty-free zone in the city of Pardubice, as well as the projected river port on the Labe / Elbe river (flowing to Hamburg) make Pardubice one of the major logistics centers in the Czech Republic.
Human resources
The city of Pardubice and the nearby cities of Hradec Kralove and Chrudim make up one of the major metropolitan areas of the Czech Republic with a population of over 250,000 and one of the most important economic, cultural and educational centers of the Czech Republic. Unemployment in the region is just below the national average but the districts of Chrudim and Svitavy have had higher unemployment than the rest of the region. Skilled labor force in most sectors is available due to the range of industries present. The University of Pardubice has four faculties including the Faculty of Chemical Technology and the Faculty of Transport and several research institutes specializing in chemicals and other fields. The High School of Electrical Engineering and the Higher Tertiary Vocational School affiliated with it form one of the major Czech schools educating laborers for the electronic sector. The region has a number of other higher tertiary vocational schools, secondary vocational schools and vocational training centers.
Major industries
Major industries are chemicals and oil refining, general engineering, electronics, food processing and textile industry. The electronic sector passed through a deep recession in early 1990s and started to grow fast again at the end of the decade after several large investments by foreign firms. Manufacture of transport vehicles (buses) and automotive components has also been growing. Chemicals and oil refining have traditionally been very strong but have been experiencing problems and releasing labor.
