Bronius Markauskas, Mayor of Klaipėda district municipality: „Klaipėda district has recently become a hub for significant investments, which are important both for the local population and the region. The SBA group's robotic furniture factory, the largest innovation park in the Baltics, the Mars primary packaging plant, numerous public sector investments and, of course, the newest project in the district – the SBA Group's Vėjo Miestelis (Wind Town) in Svencelė – are the latest investment projects that are changing the face of the Klaipėda region“.
According to the mayor, private and public sector investments benefit the region's infrastructure, economy, and cultural life: „In the new factories, we are developing products not only for the Lithuanian market but also for foreign markets. This way, we increase our competitiveness in the international arena. We are developing new technologies in advanced innovation parks, and emerging real estate projects are developing the infrastructure of towns and cities and creating new spaces for leisure and cultural life“.
A new town within a town
One of the most prominent examples of such projects is the Vėjo Miestelis, currently under development in Svencelė. This project combines residential, recreational, and active leisure infrastructure. Urban Wind, the SBA Group company developing the project, plans to invest more than EUR 70 million. The project is expected to create around 100–150 new jobs.
Markauskas continues: „Vėjo Miestelis will offer not only residential spaces but also fully developed infrastructure nearby – parks, sports fields, coworking spaces, and more. A hotel with a spa centre is also planned. The emergence of such a settlement encourages population migration to the region, which helps address demographic challenges and attracts new talent“.
The developers of the Vėjo Miestelis say that they chose Svencelė for this project for a reason – for many years now, this place has united a community of wind and water sports enthusiasts.
Arnas Bušmanas, Head of Business Development at Urban Wind, the company developing the project, says: „We noticed a gap in the market for a project that could offer people not only beautiful residential homes but also essential infrastructure, such as shops, coworking spaces, kitesurfing schools, and even kindergartens and schools for children. We decided to make all of this a reality in Vėjo Miestelis“.
According to him, designing the whole town was like assembling a jigsaw puzzle of thousands of pieces: „We assembled these pieces into one beautiful picture in collaboration with many different partners—we cooperated with Klaipėda district municipality, the State Service for Protected Territories, local entrepreneurs, residents, and the other participants of this project“.
Ambitious plans for the future
The mayor says that Klaipėda district's development plans are not limited to the implemented projects. One of the main goals is to turn Svencelė into the capital of the Pamarys Region.
Markauskas: „From a small and little-known town, Svencelė is transforming into a centre of attraction for locals and tourists. Infrastructure is being developed, and the town is becoming easier to reach by car and water. Projects such as the Vėjo Miestelis create new jobs, housing, recreation and leisure areas. Of course, all this transformation is taking place through sustainable development and innovative urban planning principles“.
The mayor says the municipality has now prepared a sustainable development concept for Dreverna-Svencelė and an implementation plan to ensure the balanced and sustainable development of these urban areas.
Markauskas concludes: „There will be new walking and cycling paths and more places for wind and water sports enthusiasts. New water tourism routes, rest areas and boat landing spots are also planned. We aim to create a Svencelė where the use of natural resources, active leisure and community coexist harmoniously“.