EDITORIAL | Wanted: More factory space

Economic expansion has exposed a series of infrastructural shortcomings over the past five years that risk stifling progress unless addressed with vigour and creativity.

One such shortcoming that may escape the popular psyche is the lack of factory space at a time when this country is trying to attract new industries.

Industrial zones have grown small and there is little hope of them expanding because of land use constraints.

There are also pending legal issues over properties in industrial zones that are vacant but cannot be easily claimed back by the government.

The drive to attract companies that produce medical cannabis, the latest push to target research and development in artificial intelligence, the expansion of existing manufacturing plants and the need for logistics hubs are putting pressure on the demand side.

This necessitates some creative thinking to maximise the use of space in industrial zones.

Government must consider vertical expansion of existing factories to make room for more, especially if it tries to create sector-specific clusters.

Admittedly, this is not as easy as it sounds because issues of ownership and infrastructure come into play.

Speaking at the start of May, Economy Minister Chris Cardona told parliament there were challenges to reconvert factories built 20 years ago that were not designed with such a development boom in mind.

He said Malta Industrial Parks had reached an agreement with several factories so that these could hand over the government their old land to make way for “sustainable expansion and create state-of-the-art buildings”.

This effort must intensify. Existing players could be incentivised through reduced commercial rents so that more floors could be added on top of their factory roof, or have their building redeveloped into a modern multi-storey building.

Furthermore, a space utilisation audit should be carried out to determine whether some factory buildings are too big for the operations they host so that these could be relocated to adequately-sized shop floors. In this way, space is used diligently and efficiently.

In those industrial zones where there are pockets of developable land, Malta Industrial Parks should go for high rise factories that can provide dynamic layouts and modern services to attract non-traditional industries.

But a greater effort has to be done to tackle with expediency the legal wrangling over unused commercial spaces. Eviction in these instances is not a straightforward affair because of archaic laws but it is becoming a pressing need.

Within these constraints, the government may consider boosting the law courts’ ability to tackle commercial evictions with expediency.

Cardona has indicated that it is not government’s intention to expand industrial zones horizontally by encroaching onto natural environments. This is a good thing, but lack of factory space is a veritable problem that must be tackled with urgency.

Coupled with this is the need to ensure a better urban environment inside industrial zones. Proper connecting roads, parking spaces, green rest areas and improved cleanliness, all help to make these zones more pleasant for the thousands of people who earn a living from them.