Located in Castanheira do Ribatejo, in the municipality of Vila Franca de Xira, the Merlin Lisboa Park, also known as Plataforma Logística Lisboa Norte, “is a strategic project not only for the municipality, but for the whole country”, said the CEO of Merlin Properties, Ismael Clemente. Speaking at the opening of the complex, the official also said «with the opening of this ship, our portfolio in Portugal is much stronger».
«It is a spectacular day to be able to inaugurate this very important project here», congratulated the president of the Vilafranquense municipality, Alberto Mesquita. Recalling that «the logistics sector is fundamental for the competitiveness of the Portuguese economy», the mayor also said that «this investment is especially relevant for the municipality of Vila Franca. The area where it is located is the territory of the economic future of our municipality and, therefore, the launch of this platform is an important milestone for all of us, given its enormous potential for development », he concluded.
A state-of-the-art logistics ship, the first building of the Merlin Lisboa Park is already completed and ready to operate, totaling 45,171 sqm of Gross Leasable Area, divided into six modules. But, as Ismael Clemente underlined, «it is only the first of the many ships we want to develop in the municipality», taking into account the buildable area of 224,864 sqm included in the Lisbon North Logistics Platform project, which will make this enterprise, when completed, the largest Portugal's logistics park.
«The new digital revolution, e-commerce and Brexit pose new challenges for logistics operators, who are looking for new solutions that will allow them to simultaneously reduce delivery times and costs. And it is to respond to this demand that we are investing 150 million euros in the development of this project », concludes the CEO of Merlin.
According to the owner, in addition to being designed according to the new quality standards of the major international logistics operators, this project is strongly committed to sustainability, with an energy-efficient construction that will soon include a self-consumption photovoltaic installation in the ship. Flexibility is another asset of this park, adds socimi, stressing its ability to adapt to the needs of operators and the market, "with a great capacity for development to carry out turnkey projects or other investment projects".
For now, this first ship has been "very well received in the market" reveals Merlin, adding that the park will also include the future logistics center of the Jerónimo Martins group, whose promotion is due to start soon.
Considering Merlin Lisboa Parque as “the main exponent” of the "ambitious program of logistical ventures” that it has been developing in Iberia in recent years, Spanish socimi also reveals that the objective is now « to position itself and consolidate itself as the reference in Portugal and thus reinforce its leadership position in the Iberian Peninsula ».
