Construction, Good for Business, Investments, Lithuania, Logistics, Transport

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 07:52

Lithuania: Kamida Group Will Invest 12 mln EUR Into Logistics Center

BC, Vilnius, 17.10.2019.Print version
Kamida Group, a transportation, logistics and agricultural equipment rental service provider, is starting to develop a 15,800 square meter logistics center with a four-story administration complex close to the western bypass in Kaunas. The project, called WESTHUB, will cost 12 mln EUR. It is scheduled to be completed next year, the Kamida group representatives informed BC.

 

WESTHUB will be targeting companies operating in the logistics, pharmacy, retail and other sectors. The project will be unique in the market because of its 1,800 square meter administration building, which will make the complex suitable for use not only for pure logistics operations but also as the central headquarters. WESTHUB will also be one of the few logistics hubs within the city limits, reachable from Kaunas’ major residential neighborhoods by foot or through several public transportation routes. This will be attractive to prospective employees, as well as for distribution within the city limits. The logistics center will also be at the crossroads of international transit: it is being developed on the Via Baltica motorway and only minutes away from the A1 highway. WESTHUB’s design works are being carried out by Kita Kryptis, a design company with a strong track record in logistics facilities.

 

 

The WESTHUB logistics center will be exclusively represented by Colliers International Advisors, a commercial real estate service provider. Regimantas Kacevičius, a consultant for industry & logistics at Colliers, comments that aside from single project, which is due to be completed soon, there have been no speculative logistics center projects in the Kaunas region since 2007. Despite it being clear that Kaunas is a supply chain center with an actively growing industrial sector, the demand for quality spaces has not been sufficiently met for more than a decade. This is further confirmed by the fact that the vacancy rate in various logistics centers around Kaunas has been observed at less than 2% for many years in a row.

 

“There are two more obvious trends: despite cost concerns which are always relevant, the option of shortening delivery times within the city limits and between cities or even countries is becoming more and more important. Even more interesting, competition in the labor market touched upon the logistics sector as well. For a long time, warehouse has only been a line of expense in financial statement, but now it, including the surrounding infrastructure, is becoming an influential factor when it comes to fighting for the best talent. Employees are getting more and more selective. They require a modern working space with good commuting options via public or personal transportation, as well as an easily reached social infrastructure,” says Kacevičius.

 

According to him, the WESTHUB is targeting supply chain leaders’ need to be at the intersection of two busiest transportation routes in the country, to be seen and well-represented, especially well-connected to the city and able to offer the top workplace environment in their battle for the best talent. The surrounding transportation service ecosystem should also prove to be attractive to prospective clients. Two modern truck maintenance centers, a truck wash, as well as transportation retailers are operating closeby. 

 

While groundworks and development of engineering networks have already been started in the land plot, building permit for the project is expected to be granted in February 2020, to carry on the construction right away. WESTHUB is designed to be suitable to accommodate from one to four tenants.

 

Last year, the Kamida Group recorded 34 mln EUR in consolidated turnover, 21% more than in 2017. WESTHUB will be the second industrial real estate project for Kamida Group, the company is finishing reconstruction work on the 5,700 square meter Lituanica factory building in Kaunas






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