Comparison Between the Commercial Success of Publicly and Privately Developed Industrial Parks. The Case of the Province of Almeria (Spain)

Abstract

Industrial parks, both publicly and privately developed, are crucial projects for the economic and social growth of any region. However, while they are sometimes examples of urban planning and economic success, sometimes they languish empty long after they were put into service. Given that the motivations of both public and private stakeholders to promote industrial lots can be very different, the objective of this study has been to analyze whether the fact that an industrial park is developed by the public or private sector gives it distinctive characteristics that, in one way or another, eventually influence its future commercial appeal. With this aim, a comprehensive study has been conducted on the 40 industrial parks located in the province of Almeria (Spain), both publicly and privately developed, analyzing variables such as their building occupancy ratio, their area of lots, and their distance from highways and cities over 50,000 inhabitants. The analysis shows that, despite the smaller average size of private developments and the preponderance of public projects in areas with the lowest economic potential, there are neither evident physical or implementation biases between leading to differences in the percentage of lots marketed in each case in the medium and long term.