Why Vukovar

The City of Vukovar holds a special place in all our hearts due to its difficult recent past. However, the City of Vukovar and its entrepreneurs and craftsmen are creating a bright future, recording increasingly positive economic results year after year. Read below to find out why Vukovar is an excellent place for business and why Vukovar is the ideal location for your future investment.

1. The status of special state concern gives Vukovar a tax advantage that other cities in Croatia do not have – 0% profit tax* and a 50% refund on paid salary contributions*

Namely, based on the aforementioned law, companies headquartered in Vukovar are entitled to an exemption from paying profit tax if they have a minimum of 5 employees, of which at least 50% are residents of Vukovar. This exemption is limited by the rules on ‘de minimis’ aid (*), which means that an investor can save up to 300,000 euros in profit tax over a 3-year period.

Likewise, an investor can request a 50% refund of the paid salary contributions for employees living in Vukovar. This measure is also limited by the rules on ‘de minimis’ aid (*), which means that an investor can save up to 300,000 euros on employee salary contributions over a 3-year period.

2. Local benefits and subsidies in the form of communal contribution exemption, communal fee reduction, preferential land prices in business zones, financial support…

• Communal contribution – this often very unpleasant initial cost for investors does not exist in Vukovar’s business zones, which significantly lowers the cost of investing in our zones.
• Communal fee – in the initial years of operation, the communal fee is reduced, with a 100% reduction in the first year of operation, while in the second and third years, the reductions are 50% and 25%, respectively.
• Preferential land prices – the land prices in our business zones are already exceptionally favorable for domestic standards, but if you employ people from the Vukovar-Srijem and Osijek-Baranja counties, it is possible to achieve a preferential land price with up to an 80% price reduction (in accordance with ‘de minimis’ aid).
• Financial support – The City of Vukovar and the Vukovar-Srijem County provide financial support to small businesses and crafts for specific business activities, and we also offer support in finding other sources of financing. Additionally, it is possible to use the services of our supporting entrepreneurial institutions, such as the Business Innovation Center.

3. Excellent infrastructure and transport connections – Vukovar is located on the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway, has a railway line, and is close to an airport and 2 European road transport corridors!

No other city in Croatia has this unique set of advantages, but let us explain them further:

• Port of Vukovar – the shortest waterway to the markets of Central and Northern Europe. Through the Rhine-Main-Danube system, goods transport to Rotterdam, for example, takes 2-3 weeks less than from the ports of Koper or Rijeka. The Port of Vukovar also has significant free transshipment capacities, and river transport is one of the cheapest forms of transport.
• Railway line – the railway connection with the Port of Rijeka is of great logistical importance because it opens up the markets of the Mediterranean, as well as the Middle and Far East and Africa, to Vukovar’s entrepreneurs. The quality of the railway is sufficient for freight traffic, and the reconstruction of the railway on the Vukovar – Vinkovci route improves travel quality in passenger traffic for the daily migrations of employees.
• The proximity of 2 European road transport corridors, Corridor X (A3 motorway) and Corridor Vc (A5 motorway), combined with the state road passing through Vukovar, provides a quick and easy connection to the markets of Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and of course, Croatia and Slovenia.
• The airport, just a 20-minute drive from Vukovar, provides an air connection to many European cities with the potential for further growth, as well as the possibility of accommodating private flights.

4. Geostrategic position on the border of the European Union, the Eurozone, and Schengen

Vukovar’s location on the border of the European Union, which is also the Eurozone and Schengen, gives Vukovar a unique advantage: on the one hand, integration into the wealthy markets of the Schengen area, and on the other hand, proximity to the markets of Southeast Europe, which is of particular importance for sectors such as trade, logistics, and the labor market.

5. Workforce availability and local value chains

More than 200,000 residents live in the Vukovar area and within a 45-minute drive. Considering that this part of Croatia has lower average wages than the national average and lower real estate prices, these facts will certainly make the economic calculation more profitable for a portion of potential investors. Nevertheless, a whole range of high-quality companies operates in Vukovar, which can become part of your value chains. It is also worth mentioning the proximity of the University of Osijek, which, along with everything mentioned, provides a quality foundation for the realization of investments to the benefit of both the investor and the local community.

In addition to all the above, it is important to emphasize the accommodating nature of the city administration in the realization of investments, and we invite anyone interested in investing and doing business in Vukovar to contact us as soon as possible.

If you are interested in investing in the Vukovar area and need more information, please contact us via email at organizacija@vbf.hr, and we will arrange a meeting with the city administration and the relevant city companies and/or provide the necessary information.

Note: De minimis aids are added together and cumulatively can amount to a maximum of 300,000.00 euros over a period of 3 years.