Report: Invest in Malta
Media: Lufthansa Inflight Magazine 2018
Sector: Country
Publication Date: November, 2018
Seizing the Future
From the ground up: Malta is reimaging its industrial space to support fast growing sectors, nurture nascent industries and pioneer new economic activities.
Malta is taking a fresh look at its industrial and business parks to cater for the ever-growing number of innovative entrepreneurs and businesses expanding from the island. The ambition is to make the most of Malta’s limited land mass and to deliver a top-quality business environment for firms of all sizes.
Given the success that Malta is enjoying, Malta Industrial Parks Ltd (MIPL) is preparing the next generation of the island’s industrial and business parks. MIPL plans to re-develop the current facilities and to create a new ‘breed’ of industrial property stock that caters for today’s evolving industries. MIPL has a wide portfolio of property under management, controlling all of the government-owned industrial parks, manufacturing facilities as well as sector-specific infrastructure in the field of aviation. The prime objective is to ensure that the current factory space is being utilised in the most efficient manner while seeking ways to increase the supply of readily available space.
Catering for a Booming Sector
One cluster that will shortly undergo a transformation is aviation, one of Malta’s fastest-growing economic sectors. The island is already home to a number of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operators, who have been undergoing major expansions as of recent. There is also clear desire to attract more private jet operators, repair facilities as well as companies offering ancillary services to the aviation industry. In this context, MIPL is evaluating the current land uses in and around the airport precincts in order to facilitate the growth of the sector in a planned and sustainable way.
Multi-Floor Designs
Strong economic growth is also fuelling demand for both factory and office space in Malta’s other industrial zones. However, most of these industrial estates were built for traditional manufacturing. The idea is now to re-generate those estates in a way that is suited to high-tech innovation, automation and industry. Rather than allowing continuous horizontal expansions, multi-storey designs are seen as a way to create more floor space where land supply is limited.
”Today, together with our clients, we are setting out to to create a new breed of industrial properties and are future-proofing our facilities, be they high-tech aircraft repair facilities, cutting-edge automotive production premises or state-of-the-art plants and research labs for pharma and biotech companies.”
Karl Azzopardi, CEO of Malta Industrial Parks
Home for New Industries
Malta’s approach also places a strong emphasis on the creation of sector-specific infrastructure to nurture new industries. The island has built a Life Sciences Park that provides laboratory space for biotech companies as well as a Digital Hub that hosts fast-growing IT companies operating in the field of software applications, big data and Distributed Ledger Technologies. The country is also rolling out the red carpet to new businesses that are relocating. Case in point: companies engaging in medical cannabis production, which Malta recently legalised.
Adding Value
In drawing up the next generation of economic zones, MIP is paying attention to the fact that the introduction of new production technologies such as robotics and data analytics will impact production processes and supply chains of many companies. The factory of tomorrow is expected to make use of cutting-edge manufacturing tools, as well as being a breeding ground for transformative ideas and processes.
A major goal for MIPL is to provide its tenants with purpose-fit facilities that will help stimulate science, research and innovative capabilities, while ensuring that companies can bring products to market as efficiently and quickly as possible.
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