The bankrupt bus manufacturer Van Hool from Koninkshooikt (Lier, Belgium) has recently put a 30-hectare business expansion site up for sale, and the Flemish government is participating in the bidding process. Not because it is trying to become e real-estate player, but because it wants to keep control over a rare, large, contiguous industrial site.

Flanders has launched an action plan for business parks because it has become apparent that there is a shortage of available space for entrepreneurship, particularly for large, contiguous industrial business parks. 

Unique site

By bidding on Van Hool’s land, Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele aims to prevent this strategic space from being lost and ensure it is used for economic activities. “It is quite rare for such a large industrial site to become available,” Diependaele says.

“It is by no means the ambition of the Flemish government to act as a real estate agent,” Diependaele emphasizes. “We only want to safeguard these lands for the further development of industrial production.”

Job creation

The mayor of Lier, Rik Verwaest (N-VA), would also like to see manufacturing and industrial companies quickly find a place on these sites. “So that jobs are created in this region again.” Preference will be given to companies with labor-intensive activities that have an acceptable impact on the neighborhood and the environment.

Flanders intends to quickly activate the site and make it available to businesses, without a lengthy planning process. In doing so, the government aims to focus on business activities that create jobs and strengthen the industrial base.

Business organization VOKA (Mechelen-Kempen region) also points to the acute shortage of large business parks in Flanders. “If Flanders is to remain economically healthy, 260 hectares of industrial land would be needed every year,” emphasizes spokesperson Eric Laureys.

Van Hool bus manufacturer

Bus manufacturer Van Hool went bankrupt in April 2024. The 30-hectare estate surrounding the factory was intended for business expansion, but that never materialized.

The sale of those unused industrial lands begins on Monday with a public auction on the online platform Biddit. Bids on the enormous piece of land start from 20 million euros.