Raising standards in the Pomeranian region
The market in the Pomeranian region is dominated by poor standard premises typical of those projects constructed between 1960-1980 which mainly served their owners' needs. As a result, the space available tends to come in areas of only 5-10,000 square meters and with heights of only 5 meters. There are, in fact, only seven logistics and distribution centers with a capacity of at least 5,000 square meters in the north of Poland.
Some of these are located along the coastline, close to the sea ports in Tri-City and Szczecin, and also near cities such as Olsztyn and Bydgoszcz. Though they are equipped with drive-in gates, smoke exhausts, hydrants and other standard equipment, this is still not enough to satisfy the more selective tenants, who are usually intent on securing better standard, high-stack storage (up to 9-12 m) with amenities like extra batching and shipment services. As these are almost non-existent in the region, companies often decide to develop facilities for themselves. And low-quality warehouse space does not always mean low rents for tenants, who might be asked to pay up to e3 per square meter for more or less refurbished premises, along with a service charge. Although it is sometimes possible to locate warehouse space for only e1 per square meter, the standard leaves much to be desired and would never be leased by, for example, a food processing company aiming to meet EU storage standards.
The absence in this region of those high-standard warehouse schemes which are operated by companies such as ProLogis, AIG/Lincoln, Parkridge or Grontmij in other parts of the country can come as something of a surprise even for a property analyst. But Sebastian Marek Wiśniewski, a project manager at Michael Svenson Investment Banking, believes that northern Poland may become ever more appreciated by logistics operators in the near future, because space further south is increasingly at a premium. Indeed, two big seaport logistics developments were recently announced by local authorities in the region.
The West Pomeranian Logistics Center (Zachodniopomorskie Centrum Logistyczne) in Szczecin will be situated near the city's harbor on a 30 hectare plot and the Logistics and Distribution Center in the Port of Gdynia will be built on 30 hectares of back-up development land. In the case of the former project, all necessary utilities, roads, railway tracks and rail terminal facilities will be financed from EU funds and construction is due for completion in 2006. The latter project in Gdynia will be developed along with new cargo and ferry terminals and a new deep sea port by DTC Gdańsk, the UK company selected via tender by the Port of Gdansk in March 2003. The project will come in 5 stages and the total amount to be invested in phase 1 will come to around $200 million, which will be provided through equity and debt by DTC Gdańsk. The initial container terminal will have a maximum capacity of 500,000 TEU per annum, a roll-on roll-off berth capacity of 160,000 TEU and will become operational in the third year of the project.
The development will become the largest deep-sea container terminal in Poland and will provide an important new transport route into the growth markets of Eastern Europe and the Baltic region. Sebastian Marek Wiśniewski holds that as the Baltic region is set to expand more quickly than the rest of Europe, Poland's membership in the EU will generate a substantial increase in demand for containerized goods, and there is no better location than Gdańsk for a major Polish container terminal. This opinion is also shared by Joanna Mroczek at Jones Lang LaSalle, who believes that EU enlargement will not only strengthen the traditional Hanza trade routes, but will contribute to the development of new logistic parks and modern warehouse space in the north of Poland as well.
This increased investment interest in the Pomeranian region will be driven by factors such as the wider availability of cheaper cargo and passenger terminals than is the case in nearby Germany, and a well-qualified workforce and its easy access to a number of Polish, Baltic and Eastern European cities. However, according to Joanna Mroczek, this will only occur if local authorities display a positive attitude towards new projects and if decent railway and road connections with major cities in Poland can be developed.
Some of these are located along the coastline, close to the sea ports in Tri-City and Szczecin, and also near cities such as Olsztyn and Bydgoszcz. Though they are equipped with drive-in gates, smoke exhausts, hydrants and other standard equipment, this is still not enough to satisfy the more selective tenants, who are usually intent on securing better standard, high-stack storage (up to 9-12 m) with amenities like extra batching and shipment services. As these are almost non-existent in the region, companies often decide to develop facilities for themselves. And low-quality warehouse space does not always mean low rents for tenants, who might be asked to pay up to e3 per square meter for more or less refurbished premises, along with a service charge. Although it is sometimes possible to locate warehouse space for only e1 per square meter, the standard leaves much to be desired and would never be leased by, for example, a food processing company aiming to meet EU storage standards.
The absence in this region of those high-standard warehouse schemes which are operated by companies such as ProLogis, AIG/Lincoln, Parkridge or Grontmij in other parts of the country can come as something of a surprise even for a property analyst. But Sebastian Marek Wiśniewski, a project manager at Michael Svenson Investment Banking, believes that northern Poland may become ever more appreciated by logistics operators in the near future, because space further south is increasingly at a premium. Indeed, two big seaport logistics developments were recently announced by local authorities in the region.
The West Pomeranian Logistics Center (Zachodniopomorskie Centrum Logistyczne) in Szczecin will be situated near the city's harbor on a 30 hectare plot and the Logistics and Distribution Center in the Port of Gdynia will be built on 30 hectares of back-up development land. In the case of the former project, all necessary utilities, roads, railway tracks and rail terminal facilities will be financed from EU funds and construction is due for completion in 2006. The latter project in Gdynia will be developed along with new cargo and ferry terminals and a new deep sea port by DTC Gdańsk, the UK company selected via tender by the Port of Gdansk in March 2003. The project will come in 5 stages and the total amount to be invested in phase 1 will come to around $200 million, which will be provided through equity and debt by DTC Gdańsk. The initial container terminal will have a maximum capacity of 500,000 TEU per annum, a roll-on roll-off berth capacity of 160,000 TEU and will become operational in the third year of the project.
The development will become the largest deep-sea container terminal in Poland and will provide an important new transport route into the growth markets of Eastern Europe and the Baltic region. Sebastian Marek Wiśniewski holds that as the Baltic region is set to expand more quickly than the rest of Europe, Poland's membership in the EU will generate a substantial increase in demand for containerized goods, and there is no better location than Gdańsk for a major Polish container terminal. This opinion is also shared by Joanna Mroczek at Jones Lang LaSalle, who believes that EU enlargement will not only strengthen the traditional Hanza trade routes, but will contribute to the development of new logistic parks and modern warehouse space in the north of Poland as well.
This increased investment interest in the Pomeranian region will be driven by factors such as the wider availability of cheaper cargo and passenger terminals than is the case in nearby Germany, and a well-qualified workforce and its easy access to a number of Polish, Baltic and Eastern European cities. However, according to Joanna Mroczek, this will only occur if local authorities display a positive attitude towards new projects and if decent railway and road connections with major cities in Poland can be developed.
