Prologis To Invest €30M In New Logistics Centre In La Ribera

25 April 2017 – El Mundo

The period of lethargy in the logistics sector has come to an end. With a growing demand that far exceeds supply, the US-based multinational Prologis is planning new projects in the Community of Valencia. The company, which is headquartered in San Francisco, inaugurated the first phase of a centre on the Valencia Logistics Park (Parque Logístico de Valencia or PLV) last week and is now finalising the construction of another large project in Massalavés, in the Ribera Alta region. This warehouse will have a constructed surface area of 60,000 m2 on a plot measuring 90,000 m2, according to the Director General for Prologis Iberia, Gustavo Cardozo.

Unlike the property inaugurated in Riba-roja, which the logistics multinational has constructed at its own risk to offer it under lease, the park in Massalavés will be constructed jointly with an operator to whom the new venue will be delivered turnkey. Negotiations with the interested company are very advanced, although Cardozo managed to avoid revealing the identity of the company in question. The project will be carried out on a plot of land that Prologis acquired in 2005, but which has been undeveloped since the outbreak of the crisis.

The Director General of the company in Spain estimates that the investment relating to this project will amount to €30 million, although the impact of Prologis in the region will be higher. In addition to that figure, there is the amount that has been allocated to the construction of the two modular warehouses in Riba-roja (€20 million). This centre, whose first phase is already operational, will generate 170 direct jobs, according to the Councillor for Homes and Public Works, María José Salvador, who cut the ribbon at the inauguration ceremony. Also in attendance at the inauguration were the Director General of Prologis for the South of Europe, François Rispe, as well as the mayor of the town, Robert Raga. (…). According to Raga, the new tenants will move into a plot of land measuring 27,000 m2, which until now had been owned by the Town Hall.

Over the last two years, commercial operations have resumed with a bang on this logistics industrial estate, which the Generalitat developed back in the day. Under this legislature, around 130,000 m2 have been sold, compared with just 10,000 m2 during the previous one. These facilities, located next to the bypass, less than 25 km from the Port of Valencia and 10 km from the airport, are receiving interest from investors, according to the Director General of Prologis, who also thanked the Valencian Government for the powers it has granted to enable this first phase to be executed in just over a year from the date the plots were acquired. (…).

The Riba-roja operation is the first that the US company has undertaken at its own risk in Spain since 2009. Prologis purchased 70,000 m2 of land in July 2016 and by November, had begun construction of the first warehouse, which is divided into four 6,000 m2 modules so that it can be rented out to a single operator or to various. According to Cardozo, it does not look like marketing this space is going to be a problem, given the high level of demand for logistics facilities in this area.

Such is the case that construction is expected to start on the second phase within the next few months. The twin warehouse will also have a surface area of almost 24,000 m2.

Original story: El Mundo (by Francisco Álvarez)

Translation: Carmel Drake