SPI+ BUSINESS PARKS

[BIZ: Liège, June 24]
Revenues of EUR 12.8m and profits of EUR 2.2m reveals that the Liège provincial development company SPI+ had an excellent year in 2007. This also applied to the German-speaking region in the province. There was a sale of 50 hectares in business parks as against 45 the year before and the sale of the relay buildings for starters. The German-speaking (DG) region’s share of the province of Liège is around 7.5%. As far as business parks are concerned, SPI+ has 47 of them and 88.9% have capacity occupation and the 1,842 companies at these locations employ 36,209. There are 17 foreign companies there, which settled in 2007 and are providing 285 new jobs. One hundred and 98 companies are waiting for a suitable location. There is also 75% occupancy at SPI+’s starter center at the Lichtenbusch border crossing area.

Looking at the German-speaking community, the figures are as follows: four of the SPI+ business parks at Eupen, St.Vith, Kaiserbaracke, and Lontzen have an occupancy of 51.9% and the 155 companies in these parks and in the relay start-up buildings employ 2,089. Eight businesses are looking for a location that suits them and in addition to the parks run by SPI+ there are other facilities run by the municipalities. In east Belgium these include Raeren and Bütgenbach-Büllingen. At the beginning of January, in the east Belgian area, 26 hectares were available. At the provincial level, 304 hectares were available. There were 208 companies on the waiting lists for Liège and ten of them in the DG. These don’t include inbound companies from elsewhere, but are local companies.

As far as an increase in business parks is concerned, SPI+ noted that there would be the sale of the Kaiserbaracke in Amel 9.5 hectares from the end of this year. In St Vith 33 hectares from 2010, and in east Belgian park 127 hectares in Eupen, Baelen, Lontzen and Welkenraedt were planned from 2011. Future projects announced by SPI+ depending on the agreement of the municipalities could provide another 30 hectares in Bütgenbach-Büllingen. An extension of the Kaiserbaracke is being considered and there is a possibility that the province, with its change in sector plans, will have another 474 hectares.
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