The Consortium of the Free Zone of Barcelona (El Consorci) was founded
in 1916 to promote, develop and manage the first free zone in Spain. It
Advertisement
is now a group of linked heterogeneous projects, the common target
being activities which generate jobs and wealth for the city and is in
effect an economic development agency whose core business has been
traditionally in three fields: real estate, logistics and technology.
It now comprises 5% of the total area of the city and provides 10% of
the GDP of Catalonia without receiving any subsidies. Projects
Advertisement
developed so far have provided a total surface of 12 million square
metres, and those presently under development and planned add nearly a
further two million.
Development plans
During the early days of technology parks in the 1980s, El Consorci –
together with the Generalitat de Catalonia, the Catalan government –
founded, promoted and developed the first technology park in Spain, the
Vallčs Technology Park. This was followed by additional industrial
estates in other parts of Catalonia. Since the hosting of the 1992
Olympic Games, when Barcelona was undergoing a profound transformation,
El Consorci has co-operated with the University of Barcelona on the
NEXUS I building, designed to host companies developing R&D
projects together with the university and soon followed by the Nexus II
and Nexus III buildings.
As partners and shareholders in the development of the Barcelona
Gloričs Business Centre and Shopping Mall, El Consorci contributed to
the regeneration of a deprived zone of the city and to new economic
activities. Creating more than 7000 jobs, over 220 stores and receiving
18 million visitors a year, the project achieves El Consorci’s twin
objectives of economic profitability and social return. The shopping
mall complex was sold to Rodamco for E100m, E42.5m of which went to El
Consorci to be reinvested in new projects. Later, the office buildings
were sold for E36m.
Since the turn of the millennium there has been a focus on logistics
and human knowledge – the development of a 40 hectare logistics park,
the Urban Industrial Park of Poblenou, for clean, non-polluting and
technology-based industries; the Metropolitan City and the Biomedical
Research Park of Barcelona; and the Industrial Estate of Mollet del
Vallčs.
How are these investments and operations financed without subsidies?
First, through rental income and second, through investment in projects
that are ultimately for sale. Private or public sector partners not
only share the investment, but also bring in their know-how and
expertise. For example, 49% of the shares in the Vallčs Technology Park
are owned by El Consorci and the Catalan government holds 49 %. The 2%
balance is owned by 17 partners, including banks, saving banks,
universities, municipal governments and others.
Logistics growth
Since 1988, the Free Zone of Barcelona has been operated as a
warehousing and distribution area with its own customs facility for
more than 100 companies. It is based in two locations close to the
city. The land and the buildings are the property of El Consorci, and
the warehouses, offices and lockers (small warehouses, ranging from
70sqm to 220sqm, which have proven popular with customers) are rented
to more than 100 private operators integrated in logistics supply
chains on five-year contracts. The total investment in the logistics
park, a 50/50 joint venture with a private listed company, is expected
to be E150m in an effort to make Barcelona the distribution and
logistics centre of southern Europe with 8000 employees.
Recently, a new strategic objective was decided upon – to organise
exhibitions and symposia based on these topics to support the hotels,
transport, shops and restaurants of the city.
Barcelona Meeting Point, a real estate exhibition and symposium open to
professionals and the general public, was held for the first time in
1997. It took up 10,000sqm of exhibition space, growing to 40,000sqm in
2002. Marbella Meeting Point followed in February 2001. And the first
Americas Meeting Point in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in May 2001, has had
a similar evolution. The dramatic growth of the international logistics
exhibition is similar to the growth of the logistics industry itself:
from 166 exhibitors and 8916 professional visitors in 1999 to 366
exhibitors and 28,794 visitors in 2002.
Estonian initiative
In Estonia, another port city is receiving much attention. The Port
of Tallinn is a joint stock company – the Republic of Estonia owns 100%
and the Ministry of Economics and Communications manages the company.
It consists of four existing harbours and one new harbour: Muuga, Old
City Harbour, Paklishi South Harbour, Paljassaare and Saaremaa Harbour,
which is due to be built during 2003/04.
The mission of the company is to create an attractive environment for
ships, cargo owners, terminal operators, investors and the people who
work there. The vision is to become the market leader in the Baltic Sea
region. To achieve sustainable competitive advantage, long-term growth
and increased input in Estonia’s socio-economic goals, the Port of
Tallinn will focus its development in directions that ensure speed in
port operations and decision making; networking required for the
effective logistics chain; and initiatives for the development of
logistics and industrial parks.
The investment programme for 2002-2010, approved by the supervisory
board, is estimated to be worth nearly E400m. The most important
transport corridors in Europe and in the Baltic Sea region have been
defined by the EU as so-called Pan-European Transport Corridors. These
have been created to connect the Trans-European Network (TEN) to the
transport networks in eastern Europe. The north-south corridor number
one includes the Via Baltica (Helsinki-Tallinn-Riga-Kaunas-Warsaw).
As a new member of the EU the existing free zones in Estonia will
continue until 2010 when the future of the zones will be decided. Muuga
Free Zone opened in 1997 and it has been of great importance to the
state, to the Port of Tallinn and cargo operators. It is one of the
most modern ports in Europe, boasting deep waters and modern terminals.
It handles more than 75% of the total cargo traffic of the Port of
Tallinn and almost 90% of the transit traffic going through Estonia.
In 2003, the development plans envisaged investing E2m and the
industrial park project is itself an extension of the free zone. There
are two other free zones: one at Sillamäe and one at Valga.
Future factors
The Port of Tallinn is working to benefit from an expected increase
in cargo flows from Europe to Russia, says Tőnis Segerkrantz,
management board member and vice-president of development. EU
enlargement will result in additional FDI, generating larger production
output and affecting the structure of export cargos. A change in
Russian cargo flow structures will occur in the longer term but strong
Russian export demand for raw materials will remain. Investments into
the Baltic countries are expected from the EU as short sea shipping and
intermodal transport gain importance for all participants in the
transport chain in Europe.
Equally important for the Baltic ports is the concept of logistics and
industrial parks which, through private investments into port
territory, are one of the key future success factors. The Port of
Tallinn strategy foresees the development of a logistics and industrial
park of 57 hectares adjacent to Muuga Harbour between 2004 and 2006.
El Consorci’s philosophy
The philosophy and the management criteria used both for the long-term
strategic development and for the day-to-day operation of El Consorci
are explained by director Jose Luis Rodriguez:
“We have tried to be flexible enough to adapt constantly to the
changing needs of the city, the country and the private companies. This
a changing world with a changing business environment and you have to
be flexible to survive.”
- “We have tried to be fast when launching new projects and we have worked very hard to transform projects into reality.”
“We have tried to foster co-operation between public and private
sectors as a strategic objective and we have used this co-operation as
a management tool.”
“We have made R&D and new technologies the basis for
sustainable growth and development. In the same way, we have promoted
co-operation between the university and the private companies because
we believe in the importance of new technologies and human knowledge.”
- “We have tried to manage all our projects using private sector criteria and tools.”
“We have always looked for profitability and economic return on
the investment. At the same time, we have tried to look for social
return on the investment.”
- “Whenever possible, we have tried to be pioneers and open new paths.”
“Since we receive no subsidies whatsoever, we have always tried
to be profitable and generate enough economic and financial resources
to guarantee our own survival.”
Excerpts from texts presented at the World Free Zone Convention meeting in Brussels in June 2003. For more information see www.freezones.org