On the edge of Dornbirn

IV boss Hartmann wants a business district

The business district is to be built between Dornbirn and Hohenems.(Bild: IV Vorarlberg)

At the summer reception, IV President Elmar Hartmann presented a new lighthouse project: 8,700 apartments and 50,000 jobs are to be built at the foot of the Breitenberg - the buildings are to be constructed in a resource-saving and sustainable manner and will therefore be up to 96 meters high.

The situation for Vorarlberg's entrepreneurs has not improved much since the beginning of the year. Interest rates and inflation are still high. The number of company insolvencies has increased dramatically. "We are seeing the effects of bad decisions that were made in the past," analyzes IV President Elmar Hartmann.

High collective bargaining agreements, high energy costs and bureaucratic hurdles are making the business location increasingly unattractive. "If it takes forever to expand a company and skilled workers are hard to come by, as an entrepreneur I have to consider other locations," explains Hartmann.

Ten places down in the location ranking
Facts and figures collected by the Lausanne School of Economics confirm Hartmann's comments. In terms of the competitiveness of 67 countries analyzed, Austria was still in 16th place in 2020. The Alpine republic now only ranks 26th.

According to Hartmann, where Austrian entrepreneurs are drawn to depends on the activity. In Eastern Europe, the cost structure for manufacturing companies is low. Switzerland and Denmark score points with attractive tax systems and very low bureaucratic hurdles. "Austria, on the other hand - hand in hand with Germany - is mercilessly good when it comes to further expanding bureaucracy," says Hartmann.

The IV, whose leading figures have attracted attention in the past with creative proposals and visions, is also looking for solutions in difficult times. What does the economy need? What does society want? IV President Elmar Hartmann and his colleagues asked themselves these questions in the run-up to the summer reception. Ten topics were evaluated by the members of IV. In addition, 505 randomly selected citizens were asked to make an assessment.

Infrastructure & education

The members of IV and 505 Vorarlberg residents were asked to rate ten topics in terms of their economic benefit. The following points were surveyed

• Construction of the underfloor route
• Track expansion in the Rhine Valley
• Better connection to Vorarlberg
• Additional Rhine Valley-Bregenzerwald connection
• Expansion of the digital infrastructure
• Further university cooperation
• IT skills as a compulsory subject
• Introduction of a bureaucracy reduction officer
• Reduction of ancillary wage costs under state jurisdiction
• Development of affordable residential and commercial areas

The result: All respondents agreed that infrastructure, education and digitalization are important for the economy and society. "At the top of the list, however, was the development of affordable residential and attractive commercial areas," reports Hartmann.

The idea of a Vorarlberg business district at the foot of the Breitenberg between Dornbirn and Hohenems was quickly born. At the foot of the 300-metre-high rock face, nobody should be bothered by buildings up to 96 meters high. "We always talk about soil compaction. If we are serious about this, we have to go up. That is sustainable and conserves resources." The IV boss has a total of 50,000 jobs and 8,700 new apartments for up to 12,000 people in mind. This should also ease the situation on the real estate market.

Elmar Hartmann (center) came to the editorial office of "Krone" Vorarlberg with outgoing Managing Director Christian Zoll (left) and his successor Simon Kampl.(Bild: sos)

But how realistic is the implementation? "Of course, many players have to play their part and the will to shape things is required," admitted the IV boss. The location in Dornbirn would be ideal due to the existing infrastructure, such as the connection to the A14 or the railroad, but it is not a given.