Prologis eyes growth in Central Italy

Logistics space provider Prologis is acquiring a 100,000 m² plot of land located south of Rome, according to Pascal Luciani, managing director of Prologis Italia. Luciani said the group has launched a due diligence for the site, on which it plans to develop a 30,000 - 40,000 m² logistics complex. The property will be Prologis' second project in the central Italian Lazio region, adding to its 30,400 m² Park Anagni which was recently leased out to Italian retail company Coop.

'We see a lot of growth in the Central-Northern part of Italy,' Luciani said in an interview with PropertyEU. 'In Italy most of the logistics space is situated in out-of-date buildings, and most companies are keen to move to new assets,' the manager said. Prologis has been active in Italy since 2001, and today holds a portfolio of 750,000 m² in the country worth some EUR 500mln.

Luciani added that Prologis Park Anagni is set to open its doors next week. The complex was developed using sustainable construction principles and a number of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies. Luciani said that Prologis hired services firm Bureau Veritas to carry out a study of the sustainability of the project. 'Our client will save about 20-25% on energy consumption in this building.' He also pointed out that, in tandem with growing oil prices, Prologis' clients are increasingly looking into ways to reduce energy consumption in their property assets.

'The Italian government will soon introduce new legislation regulating the use and recycling of water within commercial buildings, and Prologis wants to anticipate this trend,' Luciani said. 'We are now looking into introducing the first Leed-certified building in Italy,' he added.