Orihuela Town Hall has presented preliminary plans for a major new business park designed to create thousands of jobs and establish the municipality as a leading industrial and logistics hub in south-eastern Spain.
The proposed development will cover more than two million square metres on the northern side of Orihuela’s municipality, beside the A-7 motorway, and is expected to require an investment of around €65 million.
The park will focus on three strategic sectors: agri-food production, renewable energy and logistics and distribution. It is also intended to attract technology companies and encourage the development of specialised business clusters.
Under the most optimistic forecasts, the project could generate up to 10,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs during its construction, development and operation.
Plans include more than 1.1 million square metres of industrial plots, almost 200,000 square metres for commercial and service-sector use, 109,000 square metres for public facilities and more than 435,000 square metres of green space.
The site’s location within the Alicante-Elche-Murcia economic corridor is regarded as one of its main strengths. Officials are studying new road connections, including the possibility of direct access from the A-7.
The development is expected to have an energy capacity of around 110 megawatts, allowing it to accommodate major industrial and logistics operators. It will also incorporate renewable power generation, water-efficiency measures, digital connectivity and smart infrastructure.
The project aims to increase Orihuela’s number of industrial businesses by around 50 per cent and raise the municipality’s share of industrial activity across the Vega Baja to approximately 25 per cent.
Town planning councillor Matías Ruiz said more than 85 per cent of the affected landowners are already represented in the process. The council estimates the development could generate around €182 million in revenue.
Mayor Pepe Vegara described the scheme as a “historic opportunity” to attract investment, create skilled employment and provide new prospects for younger generations.
The preliminary plan marks another step in a long-running effort to overcome planning and flood-risk obstacles that had previously restricted industrial expansion in Orihuela.
The widely quoted €65 million is the estimated cost of developing and urbanising the site and although no detail is yet available about the project’s finances, a council-led planning project is expected to involve landowners, private investment and possibly public or European funding, with the final financing model still to be confirmed.
