Saxony is also in demand among investors 32 years after unity. But the settlement policy has not been a sure-fire success for a long time. The Economics Minister speaks of the “three Fs”.
Dresden (dpa / sn) – According to Economics Minister Martin Dulig (SPD), Saxony still has room for improvement in settlement policy. “We continue to be attractive to domestic and foreign investors because there is an excellent environment here with universities and research institutions. But we still have to do our homework to ensure that it stays that way,” said the Minister of the German Press Agency. It’s about the “three Fs”: space, skilled workers and facilities – i.e. the equipment with the necessary infrastructure.
Dulig explained that recently there have been more inquiries from leading industries for a commitment in Saxony. “It’s about the further development of microelectronics, about artificial intelligence, the topic of hydrogen. With this we can strengthen existing value chains or build new ones and thus make our economy more crisis-proof.” Sectors such as microelectronics would require a huge amount of space. “We are slowly reaching our limits of providing sufficient space of all sizes.”
Dulig sees a conflict of goals: “On the one hand, we have the task of protecting nature and sealing as few areas as possible. On the other hand, we need areas for economic development.”
“Whether water, infrastructure or, above all, renewable energy: this topic has been written in our books again and again in recent months. Every request from a company was accompanied by the question of whether we can also provide 100 percent renewable energy,” said due. Saxony still has a lot of catching up to do. “If we don’t catch up there, we’ll be at a real disadvantage as a location. We have to get in the fast lane here.”
In the competition for the location of the US chip manufacturer Intel, Saxony was at a disadvantage compared to Saxony-Anhalt. In mid-November it became known that Infineon wants to build a new plant in Dresden for five billion euros. “I think it’s good that Intel has gone to Saxony-Anhalt. Because it strengthens the East German business location as a whole – you can’t be provincial there. With Magdeburg and the world-famous Silicon Saxony we can generate an ‘Vorsprung Ost’,” said the minister .
Dulig recalled that every third chip produced in Europe comes from Saxony. “In addition, Infineon and Bosch have both announced major investments and massive expansion projects for their Dresden locations. The needs of microelectronics are enormous, which brings digitization with it. Europe has to cover parts of its own needs and become more independent, for example from Asian manufacturers. We must not repeat the same mistakes made by the solar industry a few years ago. New dependencies must be avoided.”
