40% of Catalan industrial zones are inactive

Barcelona (ACN).- Catalan industrial zones are hit by the economic crisis and up to 40% of their surface is not being used, according to data released this Wednesday by the Industrial Areas Association of Catalonia (UPIC), linked to the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. Catalonia has 35,000 hectares of plots of land for industrial use, and between 30% and 40% of them are without any industrial activity, according to the UPIC. In fact, for the last four consecutive years, there have been more industrial buildings closing their doors than those being opened. In total, there are 1,900 industrial areas in Catalonia, and 57% of them are located in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region.

According to the UPIC, the five years of economic crisis is provoking a “degradation” of industrial facilities in Catalonia and is causing a “desertification” of the industrial land. Miquel Valls, President of Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce, lamented this degradation and asked town halls to invest in maintaining the industrial facilities. Valls insisted that it is necessary to keep these industrial areas in good condition to host new activities once the economic recovery starts.

Francesc Ribera, UPIC’s Director General, explained that the figures announced are due to the negative evolution of industrial activity over the last four years, resulting in 40% of the industrial space not being used. Ribera emphasised that Catalan industrial areas specialised in logistics have 25% of their space free, despite the good trends of this economic sector in Catalonia.