Industrial parks or IPs serve as locations where centralized resources, like local workers and available raw materials, can be efficiently accessed. Usually situated in central areas of developing cities, it also provides inexpensive sources of labor and turnkey structures that can be modified to fit a variety of business needs. Industrial parks have the potential to become epicenters of growth and development in the communities where it is located.
It can make it easier for entrepreneurs to collaborate with one another and access providers who might be further away from them if not part of an industrial park. Regardless of what type of company or industry is present in the aforementioned space, these hubs for innovative businesses will ultimately yield growth for the community at large with spillover economic benefits that reach far beyond the physical boundaries in which industrial parks reside.
What are Industrial Parks?
These parks are often built near large urban areas and transportation hubs, for easy access in terms of shipping and receiving goods, as well as being an area where there is very little to no obstruction from residential or commercial real estate developments. Commercial business zones and offices are very similar in concept to industrial parks, with a focus on heavy-duty industry rather than corporate ventures and historically white-collar operations.
All three types operate around several objectives, primarily as expenses will be reduced when one can maintain a large common infrastructure such as allowing businesses to have lower rental costs and drive down the per unit cost of utilities and shipping of their products. Since the time of the Industrial Revolution, industrial parks have become more and more common spanning all over the world.
Importance of Industrial Park in the Philippines
Uplift the capacity of small to medium enterprise
The small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) is the backbone of the world economy. Even in a time of crisis, SMEs have been the most resilient. However, their survival and growth have been hindered by the lack of support in the realms of technology and innovation. The industrial parks are focused on providing the necessary logistics solutions that help businesses to serve their customers better.
Some of the things that industrial parks can provide are: transportation, warehousing, distribution, and production. Highlighting the ever-increasing need for logistics solutions, to ensure cheaper and faster product delivery through efficient supply chains, an industrial park aims to help small to medium businesses to harness these opportunities so that they can eventually optimize larger productivity.
Encourage entrepreneurship
Industrial parks are the ultimate inspiration for a bustling economy. It helps to create an infrastructure that motivates and brings together budding business owners across all sizes, sectors and industries which will contribute to the country’s gross domestic product or also known as GDP. The GDP of a country is measured by data produced by manufacturing and service sectors, it is the total value of all the goods and services produced within a geographical area.
Shared resources
Shared facilities are quite attractive. It gives companies a convenience that businesses need in a place of work. Industrial parks provide easy access to other important services without having to find or maintain it by the business owner themselves, which means less equipment to buy, less time spent managing facilities and more time spent on handling what really matters: products. These shared spaces are also built by experts with all the characteristics necessary for comfortable businesses, like excellent lighting and close proximity to transport links or large parts of busy markets that will bring in plenty of customers.
Boost employment
As a region grows, establishing industrial parks will help maximize the area’s development by offering businesses better employment opportunities for its neighboring communities. This can be attributed to an increase in demand for goods following the region’s increasing income levels. These higher incomes translate into increased consumer spending and therefore greater production of goods and services are needed to meet the growing demand.
Improve product chain relationships
Industrial parks are large-scale, high-technology manufacturing areas that use land and resources to its fullest potential. These areas usually host the most innovative and advanced technologies that the world has to offer which allows business and economic ties between global corporations to work with each other in an interdependent manner. The flow of information, both within and outside their business, district, or even nation helps promote a workforce that is 100% adaptable and thus extremely stable. This extraordinary understanding of information flow allows firms to benefit from being part of a business situated in industrial parks.
Key Takeaway
Industrial parks are a crucial part of a country’s economy because they provide job opportunities, as well as a place for businesses to operate and thrive. It is essential to the development of countries like the Philippines that want to kick start their economies, industrial parks are great for developers, investors, and small and medium-sized enterprises because they spur innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship, which in turn, contribute to a country’s economic growth.