The war in Russia against Ukraine has made serious adjustments to the geography of Ukrainian business. The western regions of our country are now receiving a special surge in development.. In addition to hundreds of thousands of refugees who flooded here from all over the country, the war made this region attractive for Ukrainian entrepreneurs who, by the will of fate, ended up in the area of \u200b\u200bhostilities and were forced to move. For this reason, the Western region of Ukraine has every chance of becoming a new industrial center of the country, Mikhail Bno-Ayriyan believes in the article “Second Wind: How Western Ukraine Got a Chance for Industrialization”.

If everything continues as it is now, then western Ukraine, especially Lviv, Transcarpathian, Ivano-Frankivsk (and possibly Volyn and Chernivtsi regions) may become a point of industrial growth in the next year or two. There are several reasons for this, according to the author..

Reason one. Relocation.

As of today, the regions of Western Ukraine have already received more than a thousand applications for the relocation of enterprises and businesses. Of these, a little more than 200 companies actually moved. This is what can be seen according to official statistics as part of the relocation program of the Ministry of Economy. Of course, so far the majority are small and medium-sized businesses.. But every day the list is expanding with more and more impressive productions..

Reason two. Logistics.

Another argument in favor of Western Ukraine is logistics. This region will inevitably become a key export window. The reason is the blockade of all seaports in Ukraine.

Therefore, objectively, several processes will occur:.

Existing rail infrastructure will be expanded.

The logistics infrastructure of the western regions will expand.

Processing enterprises will be created located as close as possible to the EU border.

Reason three. Local government activity.

After the start of the war, it was the regional VGAs that became the drivers of the move and, in principle, worked and are still working well in this direction..

Reason four. Migration of labor.

According to conservative estimates, at least two million people moved to western Ukraine. Tens of thousands will stay here forever. And this is the availability of a resource that is so necessary for business to work.

Reason five. EU border.

The proximity of the border with Europe is one of the key factors that will influence the development of production in the region. This includes exports, imports, and even investments..

Reason six. Factor of Russia and Belarus.

The collective position of most EU countries in their unwillingness to trade goods and services with Russia and Belarus opens up new opportunities for Ukraine and Ukrainian business.

A whole list of goods that were traditionally supplied by Russia and Belarus to the markets of the Baltic countries, Poland and other Eastern European countries are no longer exported there due to the EU embargo.

Reason seven. Soviet legacy.

In Soviet times, many industrial giants worked in western Ukraine. After privatization, only a small part of them retained production. Many have sunk into oblivion, and now they have office and retail space on their territories.. But there are also quite a few enterprises that are, in fact, in a mothballed state, with all documents, access roads (including railways), gas and electricity connections.. Many of them could potentially become donors for relocation.

For details on why the Western region of Ukraine is now attractive for business and what central and local authorities should do to help the second industrialization of the west of our country, read the article by Mikhail Bno-Ayriyan “Second Wind: How Western Ukraine Got a Chance for Industrialization”.