Ostrava sells land at the Mošnov industrial zone to international developer Panattoni

The winning bid will enable Panattoni to develop an area of almost 39 hectares to create an industrial park for standard distribution and light manufacturing use as well as for IT operations, R&D and e-commerce; this is in line with the current trend towards digitalization and the associated automation of production processes.

Ostrava’s Mayor Tomáš Macura gave more details: “New high-quality infrastructure will be built next to the Mošnov Strategic Industrial Zone and Leoš Janáček Airport. Nowadays, infrastructure of this type ranks among the standard amenities offered by large modern cities. There will be manufacturing facilities, which represent a major source of growth, technological progress and productivity. And there will also be office premises and warehousing space. The current pandemic has emphasized the huge importance of logistical flows in supplying each and every one of us. It’s also crucially important for us that the developer has committed to create new jobs with high added value. Panattoni will invest over 4 billion CZK, and that will generate multiplier effects for suppliers from Ostrava and the region as a whole – thus boosting economic development here.”

The City’s decision to sell was motivated not only by the fact that the land is ready for new development to begin immediately (being zoned as a light industrial area), but also by signals from investors who want to expand their portfolio to Ostrava. The location offers a number of advantages: it is a short distance from central Ostrava (just 25 minutes), next to an international airport, with direct connections to city and regional public transport, offering a qualified workforce in the surrounding area, and able to benefit from the Ostrava region’s strong tradition of industry, science and technology. A study has been drawn up for a direct rail link to the new zone.

Radim Babinec, Ostrava’s Deputy Mayor with responsibility for municipal assets and property, explained the terms and conditions of the purchase: “The criteria used for assessing both bids included not only the proposed purchase price, but also the way in which the site was to be developed, the number of new jobs to be created, and the schedule for the development. The best bid was submitted by Panattoni, whose new zone will create jobs for almost two thousand people within the next six years. Panattoni is buying the land for a substantially higher price than was set out in the valuer’s report (in fact 113.5 million CZK higher), and the other bidder offered a similarly high price. That sends out a clear signal that investors are well aware of the long-term future profitability of the site.”

Panattoni will build a new hall at the site, containing offices, staff facilities and technical facilities. Covering 115 510 square metres, the hall will be divided into three parts. Trees and bushes will be planted as “green screens” around the perimeter of the site. The new zone will provide employment for skilled people from all over the Ostrava region; Panattoni has committed to create at least 207 jobs with high added value, and 1932 new jobs in total. It is also expected that Ostrava’s Technical University will cooperate with some of the new occupants of the zone. Panattoni’s project will also be environmentally friendly; the purchase contract between the developer and the City explicitly states that no heavy industrial or chemical production will be permitted at the zone, and Panattoni will also be applying for BREEAM New Construction certification (level: Excellent). The certification process assesses new buildings in ten different categories, from energy efficiency to internal spaces.

Panattoni’s Managing Director for the Czech Republic Pavel Sovička talked about the company’s plans: “As a developer specializing in industrial zones and focusing on sustainable construction, Panattoni is ideally placed to benefit from the existing industrial zone nearby and the high-quality transport infrastructure serving the site. Our investment here will be almost 2 billion CZK. A further 2 billion will be invested in modern technologies by our tenants at the zone – which will include leading Czech and international companies. The construction and equipment of the buildings will offer opportunities to numerous companies from the Ostrava region, thus giving an extra boost to the regional economy. Provided that the permit process goes according to plan, we will launch construction work at the end of 2022, and the completion of all phases of the project is scheduled for four years after construction work begins. I am confident that future users will also appreciate the planned connection to a high-capacity railway siding (which will be integrated into the dispatch area of the site), as well as the close proximity to an international airport, which offers the opportunity to create a strategic multimodal terminal.”

Panattoni is currently one of the world’s largest privately-owned developers, with 28 branches in North America and Europe. Since launching its Central European operations in 2005, the company has built over 10 million m² of modern industrial units in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and the United Kingdom. Its Czech branch focuses mainly on revitalizing brownfields and sustainable development. Last year alone, Panattoni completed 125 000 m² of industrial premises. The hall in Mošnov will be the company’s first project in the Ostrava region.

Investors at the Mošnov Strategic Industrial Zone have so far created around 4 000 direct new jobs and invested 14.6 billion CZK.