Romania’s Factories, bancruptcy for real estate profits
- Adam Popescu
- 11 martie 2008, 14:00
Former communist factories that have been sold by the Romanian state have become valuable only in a real estate business perspective. We import more than we export. We consume more than we produce. The Government keeps complaining of these gaps, while Romanian factories are disappearing. Malls, residential buildings and office buildings are replacing them.
In Bucharest alone, the value of the lands owned by ex-communist factories sums up to about 2 billion euros.
Officials from real estate companies and the Romanian Association for Real Estate Agencies, told EVZ that the main reason these factories turn into malls and office buildings are the environment constraint, that take industrial activities outside the cities. Also, “most of these factories are no longer proffitable”, said Alexandru Nitescu, an official of Regata.
Almost 15% of Bucharests surface has industrial platforms that have been bought by real estate developers. Thus, Cora hypermarket was built on the land of a former milk factory in Bucharest, while Kaufland started their business on the land of a former soap factory.
A great opportunity is seen in the bancrupt defence industry, which owns a total of 16 factories situated near forests. Their properties would be ideal for future holiday villas. The 200.000 square meters field owned by the tank manufacturing Mecanica Factory is of major
interest to real estate businesses, especially because the state will sell it by this fall.
The same situation can be found in the rest of the country, where factories like Electroputere Craiova are thought to have been sold solely for their real estate potential.