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LIEGE 2017

Liège, the economic capital of Wallonia and Belgium’s third largest conurbation (600 000 inhabitants), is a Candidate City for the International Expo of 2017. With this, Liège hopes to showcase Belgium’s strengths and success stories in the economic, scientific and cultural arenas, put Belgium, its Regions and Communities on the world map for all the right reasons and symbolise the success of the industrial and urban reconversion of the Liège Region.

The dynamism of Liège is obvious as soon as one steps off the high-speed train into the new Guillemins station, a massive masterpiece of modern architecture described as “the future of train travel” by The Guardian. On top of being Wallonia’s main tourist destination, Liège also has an airport which ranks eighth in Europe for freight transport (1st in Belgium). The autonomous port of Liège is the biggest Belgian inland port and the 3rd European port in terms of transported tonnage and, what’s more, according to several studies, the district of Liège is considered as the most attractive region in Europe for logistics.

And when the expo is over, the whole site, called Coronmeuse, will be converted into an eco-district. Read more about Liège, the candidacy and the Expo 2017 on the Liège 2017 official website:

www.liege-expo2017.com

Didier DENAYER
Economic and Commercial Counsellor

News & Events

The Financial Times published a special report entitled “Doing Business in Wallonia”. Everything is covered, from our highly desirable location to the economic situation. Read all the articles and download the report here.

In Ernst & Young's annual barometer on Belgian attractiveness, Belgium has moved up from eighth to sixth place with respect to foreign investments in Europe, which is due primarily to Wallonia. The southern region received 57 of the 146 investment projects, a rise of 17 over 2008. Flanders and Brussels fell far short, with the number of projects in Flanders down from 74 to 64 and in Brussels from 28 to 25. A survey among business CEO's showed that the main reasons companies opt for Belgium are the quality of life, the good telecommunications infrastructure, transport and logistics, employee skills and the stable social climate.

Wallonia is the first logistic region in Europe. This is the conclusion of a survey lead by Cushman & Wakefield. The report makes a ranking of top locations for distribution and logistics in Europe, based upon macro-economic parameters for 61 European regions. Read the abridged version here.

H&M European hub in Wallonia
The Swedish clothing group H&M and Wallonia authorities have announced the development of a distribution centre in the Ghlin-Baudour economic zone, which will lead to the creation of more than 300 jobs. Wallonia was the group's first choice because of the attractive price of greenfield land, the quality of the workforce and the availability of investment grants.

Belgium remains in first position in the European logistics and distribution market, according to a recent report by Cushman & Wakefield. This report ranks 25 countries based on rent, labour costs, congestion, size of freight markets by type, proximity to key markets and population densities.With low property and building costs and a central location in Europe, Belgium is the place most investors chose for their distribution centres and logistics platforms. Download the report here.

Charleroi airport - flying colours!
Brussels South Charleroi Airport, which recently opened its new terminal and launched 6 new destinations, shows an unrivalled 14% growth for the first quarter 2008, remaining one of the country's favourite airports.

IBA expanding again
Walloon biotech company Ion Beam Applications opens a new radiopharmaceuticals production centre in Guilford (Surrey), which reinforces the position of IBA as the largest radiopharmaceuticals distribution network in the world.
www.iba.be