In the 21st edition of the State Gazette (“SG”) from the 12th of March 2021 the new Industrial Parks Act (“IPA” or “The Act”) was promulgated, which, for the first time, governs the statute of industrial parks (“IP”), the terms and procedure for their creation, building, functioning and development. The main goals of the IPA revolve around creating the necessary conditions to stimulate investors; generating a favorable institutional environment, as well as attracting and stimulating investments.
Industrial park
The new IPA defines industrial parks as follows:
“An industrial park is a designated territory, situated in one or multiple municipalities, for which establishment, technical and organisational conditions for productive activities have been ensured.”
Types of IP
According to production activities, IPs can be:
- Type A – general type, with no specialization of production activities;
- Type B – specialized, in which a certain type of production activity and associated or similar activity takes place;
- Type C – specialized, in which high-tech activities and associated activities take place.
Industrial parks register
Industrial parks created under the terms and conditions of the IPA undergo registration in a special electronic register of IP (“ERIP”), whose creation and maintenance are attributed to the Minister of Economy.
The registry application of an IP is submitted by the park’s operator electronically with a qualified electronic signature. Alongside the application, the concept, and organizational rules of the IP undergoing registration in the ERIP must also be submitted.
The ERIP contains information regarding: the type and name of the IP; acceptable activities; location and area covered by the IP; identifiers of regulated lots on IP grounds; information regarding the IP’s technical infrastructure; information about the IP’s owner, operator, and investor; operation activities.
The ERIP also contains: the IP’s concept; the rules of organization of the IP; DP of IP with its amendments etc.
The IPA’s rules, as well as all measures taken towards the realization of government policies to encourage IPs, will only be applicable in regard to parks, registered in the ERIP.
Detailed plan of IPs
The law requires a specialized detailed land use plan, with which the territory of an industrial park is designated as a manufacturing spatial-developmental zone — a so-called Detailed plan of IP (“DP of IP”).
Minimal area of IP
There is a minimal area that an industrial park needs to cover, which is no less than 300 decares.
There are two exceptions to this rule, which apply to parks, which are specialized for highly technological activities, and in those cases the minimal area is 10 decares, respectively 100 decares, when the park is situated in a territory qualified as a “high-tech production zone”.
Purpose of lots on IP territory
The purpose of regulated lots (“RL”) on IP territory inherently must be production-oriented, but RLs with the following purposes are also allowed:
- Ancillary and service-oriented activities in regard to the functioning of the industrial park, including moving and transportation and other technical infrastructure,
- Community service activities,
- Green areas and special lots, whose total area can’t be equal to or greater than half of the park’s total covered area.
Condition regarding the internal technical infrastructure of IP
Internal technical infrastructure must be ensured on the territory of an industrial park, which only services activities carried out on IP grounds and its connectedness to elements of the technical infrastructure.
The internal technical infrastructure of an industrial park encompasses, at the very least, the following:
- Transportation-oriented technical infrastructure of IP;
- Water supply and sewage network on the territory of IP;
- Electricity distribution network.
Owner of IP
An owner of an industrial park can be the state and/or one or more municipalities, as well as a legal entity, registered as a merchant under the terms of the Commerce Act, or groupings of such entities.
Therefore, according to its owner, an IP can be:
- State-owned – when the state owns the IP;
- Municipality-owned – when one municipality owns the IP;
- Joint-owned – when the owner of the IP is the state and one or more municipalities, as well as when the IP is owned by two or more municipalities;
- Private – when the owner is a legal entity registered as a merchant, or a grouping of such entities
When creating the IP, the owner of the park must have ownership of the lots on the park’s territory, except in the cases where the IP is state-owned, municipality-owned or joint-owned, where the lots are property of the operator, who is a public enterprise. State- and municipality-owned lots on the IP’s territory respectively must be either private state property or private municipal property.
IP operator
The operator of an industrial park carries out the operation activities of the industrial park.
Depending on the owner, the IP operator is:
- When the owner of the park is the state and/or a municipality, the operator must be a public enterprise or a concessionaire, determined by the Concession Act.
- When the owner of the industrial park is a legal entity, registered as a merchant or a grouping of such entities, the role of operator is filled by the owner or by another company.
When the role of operator is not being filled by the owner of the industrial park, the relationship between the owner and the operator is governed by a contract for the IP’s operation activities — a so-called contract of operations.
Investor, partner, user of an IP
An investor in an IP is a merchant according to the Commerce act, who uses the IP as a means of fulfilling production activities on the basis of a business contract with the operator.
A partner is someone who aids and furthers the functioning and development of the industrial park in accordance with a contract with the operator.
The owners of elements of the technical infrastructure that differ from the IP owner’s internal technical infrastructure do not classify as partners.
Users are investors and partners, who operate on the industrial park’s territory.
IP creation
As per the IPA, an IP is created via a resolution:
- On the basis of a proposal from the Minister of Economy addressed to the Council of Ministers – for state-owned and joint-owned IPs;
- On the basis of a proposal from the mayor of the municipality addressed to the municipal council — for municipal IPs and joint-owned IPs
- In accordance with the act of foundation of the legal entity, respectively of grouping of such entities — for private IPs
Alongside the proposal the following is also enclosed:
- IP concept;
- Operator’s business plan;
- Plan for the creation of a DP of the IP or a detailed plan of the territory of the IP;
- Plan of a contract of operation activities, unless the owner is also the operator;
- Plan for the general organizational rules in the IP;
- Deeds of ownership of the lots, included in the IP’s territory, or information regarding the current identifiers of the lots according to the cadastral map and the cadastral registers.
The resolution for the creation of an IP must contain:
- Name of the park;
- Type of the park, and when it is a type B – the type of production, for which it is designated;
- Area covered by the park;
- Current identifiers of the lots on IP grounds according to the cadastral map and the cadastral registers, when applicable;
- Consent for a contract of operation, when applicable, with name and PNF of the operator;
- Approval of the concept of the industrial park and the organizational rules of the industrial park;
- Other conditions in accordance with the conditions of the IPA
Documents and contracts related to the creation, construction and functioning of IP
- IP Concept — determines long-term perspectives and goals for the development of the IP
- The rules of organization of the IP — contains the conditions and order of planning, construction and usage of the internal technical infrastructure; the terms and procedure for acquiring rights over lots or parts of lots, situated on the IP’s territory; the terms and procedure for construction on the IP’s territory; the terms and procedure for the operator’s services given to the investors; list of activities allowed on the IP’s territory; the rights and obligations of the operator and the users, including cases of expungement from the ERIP;
- Operator’s business plan — contains an analysis of the environment; analysis of the market; analysis of the competition; marketing plan; management plan; operational plan; financial plan; sources of funding;
- Contract of operations — reached between the operator and the Minister of Economy — for a state-owned industrial park; the mayor of the municipality — for a municipal industrial park; the Minister of Economy or the mayor of the municipality — in accordance with a resolution from the owners — for a joint-owned industrial park; the body representing the legal entity, registered as a merchant – for a private industrial park.
IP Construction
IP construction activities are:
- Establishment planning
- Investment planning
- Construction for the development and maintenance of the IP
These activities are carried out after the IP has been registered in the ERIP.
Activities related to the construction of an industrial park are carried out gradually on the basis of administrative acts related to its construction after the conclusion of the following administrative services:
- Approval of the cadastral map and cadastral registers for the territory of the IP, when the territory is not included in the cadastral map;
- Permission for the creation of a DP of the IP, and in addition, when it’s also required by the Spatial Development Act and the requirement is applicable to the respective IP – the prior permission for amendment of the general zoning plan of the municipality;
- Approval of the DP of the IP, and in addition, when it’s also required by the Spatial Development Act – approval of the prior amendment of the general zoning plan of the municipality;
- Issue of a design permit for a regulated lot on the IP’s territory – in the cases where this is required by Art. 140 of the Spatial Development Act;
- Approval of an investment plan and issue of a construction permit for different constructions on the park’s territory, when this is required by the Spatial Development Act;
- Permission for the usage/permission for the putting into service of different constructions on the park’s territory, when this is required by the Spatial Development Act.
Operation and usage of an industrial park
The operation activities of an IP carried out by the operator include:
- Management and maintenance of the internal technical infrastructure, owned by the owner of the IP, in accordance with technical requirements,
- Providing administrative and other services to the investors regarding the activities carried out in the industrial park in accordance with the rules of organization of the IP and the respective business contract;
- Cooperating with the users of the IP in connection with the administrative servicing of their activities on the part of government and municipal institutions;
- Conclusion of business contacts, partnership contracts and service contracts;
- Construction of elements of the internal technical infrastructure and buildings aimed at the development of the industrial park;
- Conclusion of contracts with partners for securing social, administrative and other services on the IP’s territory;
- Building and maintenance of transport access and building and maintenance of additions of elements of the internal technical infrastructure of the park to existing external technical infrastructure – when applicable;
- Conclusion of a service contracts with entities that have the necessary document to collect and transport waste generated on the IP’s grounds to the designated facilities;
- Construction and maintenance of production-oriented and other types of buildings and equipment on the IP’s grounds;
- Other activities – at the owner’s discretion.
Development of IPs
According to the IPA, an IP can develop in accordance with the production activities, ancillary activities and community service activities carried out on its grounds via:
- Expansion of the park’s territory;
- Restructuring of the park;
- Reconstruction of buildings that are already on the IP’s grounds.
