EnglishThe first building in the Ploiesti West Park, the largest industrial park in Eastern Europe, will be ready at the beginning of October, according to Petrica Usurelu, the founder of Piritex Group, which holds 20% in the project. The remaining 80% is property of the Belgian-based Alinso Group. The announcement was made during a press conference called to unveil the investment.
Construction works on the first building of the industrial park started on 26 June 2009. The building measures some 40 hectares of the total park surface of 220 hectares and is over 11 metres tall. The project comprises several phases and will be delivered in six or seven years, depending on the global financial and economic situation, according to Alinso Group Chief Executive Office Ivan Lokere.
The first phase will be completed in two or three years, whereas the second phase, which includes a residential area, will be developed as fast as the market demand requires it. "Depending on demand, we may start the second phase of the project sooner than planned," Usurelu added.
The overall estimated value of the buildings and the infrastructure included in the industrial park in Aricestii Rahtivani, near the city of Ploiesti, exceeds 750 million RON.
The Ploiesti West Park will be dedicated to logistics, research & development, retail and the oil industry. The industrial park is designed to service the European distribution centres and major urban distributors servicing Bucharest and Ploiesti. The compound is located near the future Bucharest - Budapest Highway. According to Petrica Usurelu, the area will be connected to a railway terminal in up to eight months. The terminal is already under construction.
"Alinso Group has been carefully watching the development of Eastern Europe for the past few years and has reviewed several regions as potential locations for a major industrial park. Eventually, we chose Romania, which is ideally positioned to service markets in Eastern Europe and beyond. The Prahova - Ploiesti area includes oil refineries, a reputed engineering university and, generally speaking, a diversity of economic activities. Moreover, Ploiesti is very close to the capital of the country and the Ploiesti West Park has excellent access routes," said Alinso Group CEO Ivan Lokere.
He further said that the company was ready to consider other joint ventures, too, if the opportunity appeared on the market. Although the industrial park will be built and leased, Ivan Lokere said the company could also sell parts of the project.
The Ploiesti West Park will include a Business Park dedicated to logistics, light industries and research. This area will also include restaurants, hotels, offices and a retail area.
The land upon which the industrial park is being developed has been bought entirely from individual owners. The average rent will be 55 EUR / square metres / year.
"Each building has its specificity. The rent will also depend on utilities. The operating costs of the park will be very low, due to our investments in green energy. We have been negotiating for more than three weeks now with over 30 companies from different industries who are interesting in leasing space in the park," Usurelu said.
The Ploiesti West Park will create some 16,000 - 17,000 jobs in total. The first phase is expected to generate approximately 3,500 - 4,000 jobs.
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