The in BW Intercommunal Association on Tuesday introduced the second phase of Les Portes de l’Europe business park in Nivelles Nord, in the presence of Wallonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Willy Borsus.
This phase of the project occupies an area of 19 hectares, on which plots have been prepared for businesses, with the potential to employ around 450 people.
The project has taken biodiversity into account due to its location around the old storm basin of the Nivelles-Baulers racing circuit, its promoters say. About 70% of its €4.15 million price tag is supported by grants from the Walloon Region.
Around 1,100 metres of roads and 2,900 metres of separate sewerage have been built. InBW has also planted 4,800 trees and bushes and sowed 25,000 m2 of lawns and flower meadows.
The new phase of the business park, which repurposes the old car circuit, was inaugurated on Tuesday. Deals and sales have already been agreed for nearly 4 hectares, while reservations are in progress for another 3.5 hectares.
One of the appeals of this business park, whose first phase welcomed 87 companies with more than 2,000 employees, is its convenient location. It is immediately accessible from the Nivelles Nord exits of the Brussels-Paris motorway, situated between two airports, and just outside Brussels.
Given the enthusiasm shown by businesses, inBW has already lodged a request for amendments to the sector’s plan for a third phase, which will expand the site by a further 32 hectares to the north.
The inter-municipal association hopes to have the first of these sites available in around five years.
