According to the research report Romania Industrial Destinations, launched by CBRE, 2020 brought a record volume of transactions: over 930,000 sqm leased.
"2021 has all the prerequisites to be a formidable year for the industrial space market in Romania, after 2020 proved to be a record year with over 930,000 sq m traded. Developers are investing in different areas of the country: from the consecrated area of Timiș to Brașov and Bacău, which are beginning to show growing interest, benefiting from land with potential for development and available labor", said Răzvan Iorgu, Managing Director, CBRE Romania.
CBRE recently brokered the largest extension transaction in recent years, namely the renewal of the 85,000 sq m contract by the Carrefour retailer within the P3 Bucharest Park industrial park. Among the largest transactions concluded in 2020 are: Ikea (70,000 sqm in CTPark Bucharest West) and Profi (58,500, respectively 57,000 sqm in WDP Timisoara and WDP Craiova).
At national level, approximately 400,000 sqm of industrial spaces are currently under construction, an area of over 60% being already pre-leased, according to CBRE Research data. Thus, after in 2020 the stock of industrial spaces in Romania increased by over 570,000 sqm, the development activity continues to be alert this year as well, driven by the degree of vacancy of only 8% nationally.
With an existing stock of 2.3 million sqm, Bucharest and its surroundings, respectively Ilfov, continue to attract the largest volume of new developments, being under construction over 140,000 sqm. On the next place, with a stock of 1.2 million sqm, is the northern and northwestern region of the country, which includes Timisoara, Arad and Cluj-Napoca. In this area, the developers have under construction approximately 130,000 sqm, of which over 100,000 sqm are in Timiș County, according to the Romania Industrial Destinations report.
"Timișoara and Arad continue to attract the attention of companies that need logistics spaces, enjoying infrastructure and easy access to Bucharest and the northern and northwestern borders of the country. We are talking to many companies, including from the retail industry and related fields, who are interested in expanding or moving their storage spaces in this area", said Daniela Gavril, Head of Research, CBRE Romania.
Another dynamic area in terms of new projects is the region in central Romania, which includes cities such as Deva, Sibiu, Târgu-Mureș and Brașov, where there is a stock of about 670,000 sqm that will increase by 10% this year alone, with approximately 15,000 sqm under construction in Brașov.
Eastern and northeastern Romania, with destinations such as Bacau and Iasi, has recently reached the radar of investors in the industrial sector, with advantages such as low labor costs, the absence of large international developers and a consistent supply of land available for development, reveals the report.
Romania has had a rapid pace of development of the industrial market in the last five years, the stock doubling during this period. However, with only 260 square meters of industrial space per thousand inhabitants, our country is below the regional average. For comparison, Poland has an average of 510 sqm per thousand inhabitants and the Czech Republic, 840 sqm per thousand inhabitants. In the next 5 years, CBRE calculations indicate an increase in the stock of industrial spaces by over 50%, up to 8 million sqm, at this moment, the developers having almost 400,000 sqm of industrial spaces under construction. (Source: CBRE)
