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Category: Science and Technology
Date Submitted: 07/09/2015 02:33 PM
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PLAZA: A Logistics Park Case Study
Francesca Paparo
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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PLAZA, the Logistics Platform of Zaragoza, Spain is the biggest logistic park in Europe. It is
a 10-year project started in 2000, which is now half way through completion. There is not
much literature on logistic parks so far because it is a very recent concept. Usually logistic
activities would flourish around strategic area without any pre-planning. Due to congestion of
those areas, governments are now trying to locate logistics in more decentralized areas and
are trying to build services in order to attract customers.
The case of PLAZA can serve as an example for future development, helping to assess the
viability of newer projects in the same field. In the literature, there are a lot of examples of
automotive or technological parks; however there are no previous case studies on a pure
logistic park.
PLAZA has being build in order to create more jobs in Aragon, which is a region of Spain
where population is constantly decreasing. It aims to attract and retain the current young
population, especially high skilled labor and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Spain and
increase investment in Research and Development in a country bent on becoming one of the
most prosperous in Europe. This venture is an attempt to reverse the common stereotype
which shows southern European countries as the least developed in the European
Community.
The strategy of PLAZA focuses on three pillars:
Geostrategic area: Opening new routes through Europe will mean making sure that
most of the goods will pass through Pyrenees via Zaragoza. Exploiting its strategic
position, Zaragoza will become the new heart of Spain.
Intermodality: The agility of moving containers from trains to truck, the possibility
of the speed of cargo planes and the option of being a dry port...