The Saarland Economic Promotion Corporation (gwSaar) and the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Transport have launched the `Saarland Industrial Areas Masterplan 2`, or, for short, `Masterplan 2`. It is the follow-up project to the first master plan for industrial areas, which was adopted in 2007. Meanwhile the areas developed under this first master plan have been almost completely marketed. So, the aim is to create more areas in Saarland that are suitable for new company settlements. For this reason, the Saarland government takes 65 million euros into its hands. Economics Minister Anke Rehlinger and Thomas Schuck, Managing Director of gwSaar, presented the `Masterplan 2` at a press conference on Thursday, February 25th.<\/p>\n
Under the leadership of gwSaar, more than 100 sites in total throughout Saarland were examined in the last few months. In addition to the size of the area, flexibility of use and the expected duration of development, the geographical location in particular was one of the most relevant evaluation criteria. Contrary to the first master plan, not only areas to be newly developed (greenfields) but also old commercial and industrial areas, so-called brownfields, were increasingly examined on the background of making existing infrastructures usable again. The `Masterplan 2` now shows 10 areas where short-term development planning is possible. They are located in:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Homburg
\n\u2022 Merzig
\n\u2022 Perl
\n\u2022 Saarlouis
\n\u2022 Saarbr\u00fccken
\n\u2022 Saarwellingen
\n\u2022 Schwalbach
\n\u2022 \u00dcberherrn
\n\u2022 V\u00f6lklingen
\n\u2022 Ensdorf<\/p>\n
`In order to bring about a successful structural change in Saarland, we must convince in the international competition for industrial settlements. Important settlement decisions such as those of SVolt and Nobilia have shown that Saarland offers everything that matters to companies: skilled workers, research, know-how. But it also needs a forward-looking land development policy which we will implement with the `Masterplan 2`. In doing so, we also take a closer look at old industrial and commercial sites that we can make usable again`, said Economics Minister Anke Rehlinger. `We want to convince further companies to choose Saarland as a new location, but also offer new growth opportunities to businesses already established here.`<\/p>\n
That this can well succeed is proven by the balance sheet of the previous concept: 45 companies were newly settled on the sites of the first master plan, and a total of 3,350 jobs were created in the context of `Masterplan 1`.<\/p>\n
`To make sure that further companies can settle in Saarland in the future, we now want to prepare the scene for this and make suitable areas available. In particular, areas that can be realized quickly are of interest to companies looking for a location`, said Thomas Schuck, Managing Director of gwSaar, which is responsible for the development and marketing of the master plan areas. Now the success story is to be continued with the new edition of the master plan. Which areas will ultimately be developed under the `Masterplan 2` depends especially from the implementation period resulting from the willingness of the respective municipalities to provide sites for commercial use and the willingness of the property owners to sell. The upcycling of commercial and industrial old areas, in turn, varies with the options of a subsequent use. So, gwSaar and the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Labor, Energy and Transport are in close contact with local authorities and citizens. In the further process, dialogue events are therefore planned in the municipalities mentioned.<\/p>\n
The `Masterplan Industriefl\u00e4chen 1` has largely been completed with an investment of roughly 100 million euros. Most of the sites in Saarlouis, Homburg, Tholey and Losheim with a total size of 177 ha have already been marketed. The development of the areas as part of the first master plan was completed three years earlier than originally planned. The good and quick marketing success led to the decision to establish a further master plan for industrial areas.<\/p>\n
For the `Masterplan 2`, the entire Saarland was examined for suitable areas. Then, the identified areas underwent an extensive suitability test. The most important evaluation criteria in this context were: size, geographical location, ownership structure, usage restrictions, cost of land acquisition and development, usage flexibility, transport connections as well as time required until marketing can start. Based upon these criteria, the areas were weighted, prioritized and selected.<\/p>\n
In contrast to the first master plan, not only greenfields but also brownfields that could be upgraded and, so, made usable again, were now increasingly included in the analyses. This new focus will be expanded by the enlargement of the already existing area and marketing platform www.portal.germanys.saarland . In the future, old commercial and industrial areas will also be systematically recorded and evaluated on a regular basis before, ideally, they are passed to a subsequent use. In this context, gwSaar also serves as a point of contact for companies planning to make usable again own operational sites that are no longer required. New space potential from brownfields can thus be identified early and upcycling measures can be initiated.<\/p>\n
Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n gwSaar Gesellschaft f\u00fcr Wirtschaftsf\u00f6rderung Saar mbH Media contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n SHS Strukturholding Saar GmbH Media contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n Ministerium f\u00fcr Wirtschaft, Arbeit, Energie und Verkehr
\nmasterplan@invest-in-saarland.com<\/p>\n
\nCorporate Communication \/ Press
\nDr. Ludwin Vogel
\nPhone: +49 6893 9989-630
\nE-Mail: l.vogel@strukturholding.de<\/a><\/p>\n
\nFranz-Josef-R\u00f6der-Stra\u00dfe 17, 66119 Saarbr\u00fccken
\nPhone: +49 681 501-1690
\nE-Mail: presse@wirtschaft.saarland.de<\/a><\/p>\n