Expand industrial land, and urgently. This is the claim of companies in the province of Alicante, voiced by the Federation of Business Parks of the Valencian Community (Fepeval). To meet current demand, the surface area needs to increase by 25% compared to the existing area, which means adding approximately 11 million square meters of space.. A gauntlet received this Monday by the Minister of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, Nuria Montes, emphasized that one of the biggest goals of the Generalitat is to develop more land with the maximum possible agility, but her own department warned that due to complex administrative procedures, at least six It takes years. This took place during an event where the industrial zones of Las Atalayas in Alicante and Cotes Baixes in Alcoy were awarded; these were the only two areas in the state classified as developed industrial zones.
It is the Generalitat itself that gives the status of advanced industrial zones to industrial zones that meet a number of requirements regarding infrastructure, facilities and services within the framework of the Law on the Modernization of Industrial Areas of the Valencian Community. It starts with the establishment of Management and Modernization Assets (EGM) and continues with the preparation of mobility and security plans. There are six industrial zones in the entire autonomous region that have achieved this recognition so farboth from the province of Alicante and those from Cotes de Algemesi, Juan Carlos I de Almussafes, Fuente del Jarro and Tecnológico de Paterna.
In the case of Las Atalayas in Alicante, the City Council recently implemented a project through funds provided for this purpose by the Valencian Institute for Business Competition (Ivace). Significant investments in the installation of traffic control cameras and measurement of environmental quality and safetyMarking and widening of fire hydrants, widening of parking areas, renewing paving and lighting, installing digital information panels, improving garden areas or recent renovation of main access. Vicente Seguí, coach of Las Atalayas and vice president of Fepeval, adds to these topics so-called “roundabouts”services such as garden areas to regulate traffic at intersections or adequate bus transport and even a children’s play center for workers’ sons and daughters. He explains that all of this is with the aim of improving the services offered to companies and their employees.
Seguí considers the actions taken to be extremely important, but The need to expand available land is also highlighted, given the strong demand from companies to both establish themselves and expand their facilities.. He points out that a project to provide an additional 650,000 square meters of space in Las Atalayas to this industrial zone, which will be added to the existing 1,200,000 square meters, is currently in the hands of the Ministry of Environment. However, he warns that this is by no means a specific need for this region, and that the deficit is general. Although there is no specific study on this subject, Seguí estimates that it will be necessary to increase the existing industrial land area in the province by 20% to 25%. In his own words, to “not get so overwhelmed”. This means approximately 11 million square meters more than currently available.
AND The company Aliaxis, based in Las Atalayas, is an example.Finance director José Quiles emphasized that they expect expansion to make their growth expectations feasible. “We need another 50,000 square meters,” he says.
Regarding Cotes Baixes in Alcoy, the province’s other advanced industrial area, Significant investments have also been made in fiber optics, lighting renewal, camera installation, bicycle paths, and improving access or charging points for electric vehicles.. And in this case, 580,000 square meters of the polygon are saturated and there is no possibility of expansion. According to Ramón Juan, head of the management unit, “We have serious industrial land problems in Alcoy, so We need actions such as the new southern industrial zone and the joint regional industrial zone.“To prevent some companies from having to leave the city due to inability to grow,” he said.
Elche Business Park has not yet been recognized as a developed industrial area, but it is in the process. According to executive director Raquel Rosique, “They changed the law and we were missing the requirements of the mobility plan, which we will have shortly.” Regarding the need for land, they emphasize that they are confident that, after years of procedures, the 600,000 m2 expansion project that will add to the existing area of 2,700,000 m2 can finally be implemented in the last quarter of the year. “The problem is slowness because the procedures are too cumbersome“, mint.
Councilor Nuria Montes stated at the awards ceremony held this Monday at the Alicantina Fair Institute (IFA): Of the 166 million square meters of available industrial land in the Valencian Community, only 5.5 million is usable. For this reason, it is deemed necessary to start planning developments with the help of city councils and professionals “so that companies that want to come to our region can open stores.” He insisted on speed, taking into account long processing times. In fact, regional Industry Minister Felipe Carrasco stated: It takes at least six years for soil to develop It was stated that since no projects have been carried out in recent years, if new actions are not taken, there will be a stalemate for 15 years. He also stated that work is being done on a new regulatory framework that will streamline the bureaucratic aspect.
At the same meeting, Fepeval president Diego Romá emphasized: Ivace has invested €140 million in the modernization of industrial areas since 2017Luis Barcala, mayors of Elche, Pablo Ruz and Alicante, cited the involvement of their municipal councils when it comes to improving industrial sites. Alcoy mayor Toni Frances is also at the event.