In the border areas between Poland and Ukraine, we observe a great dynamics of events. - Tenants who were previously interested in development in the region of south-eastern Poland and have not yet decided to sign the contract, perhaps should consider locations in other parts of the country - says Renata Osiecka . - We expect that the available warehouse space on the eastern wall will be absorbed to support humanitarian facilities - he says.
In addition, experts observe a large number of inquiries from Ukrainian tenants who want to move their activities to Poland during the conflict. - We assume that in the near future the free warehouses located along the A4 motorway, from Rzeszów to Wrocław, will fill up quickly. In turn, tenants who are already at the advanced stages of negotiations, fearing the lack of space, may decide to rent more modules to secure a place for the development of their business - emphasizes Renata Osiecka.
Poland as a logistics hub
As he says, Poland - thanks to its location - is a natural logistics hub, which should, firstly, take over and provide a place for development for companies from Ukraine, and secondly, enable the handling of transit from the West to the East.
- A sudden increase in tenants' interest in warehouse infrastructure in the Podkarpackie, Małopolskie and Lubelskie voivodships (with low vacancy rates in these regions amounting to approx. 2-3% of the total stock) will require companies to search for locations in markets with a larger available space volume. The regions that will attract tenants' attention will certainly be Upper and Lower Silesia, incl. thanks to its location along the A4 motorway. The relatively high availability of existing space (in nominal terms) in Central Poland and around Warsaw, as well as vacant space under construction in the center of the country, in Upper and Lower Silesia, may also attract customers to these markets, explains the expert.
To what extent will the Russian-Ukrainian conflict affect the investment activity of developers? Renata Osiecka emphasizes that at the present stage it is still much too early to predict it. - It is worth noting, however, that so far works on the construction of the international Via Carpatia route have not been suspended. The project of the route runs at a considerable distance from the border with Ukraine, and GDDKiA issues further permits for the construction of new sections - he says.
Extended deliveries of goods
Renata Osiecka points out that as a result of the ongoing conflict, some of the supply chains for construction materials imported from Ukraine may be extended. General contractors and transport companies may signal potential staff shortages.
- Therefore, in fear of losing some employees of Ukrainian origin, these companies decided to help by organizing, inter alia, transport to Poland for their families or transports with material assistance. Nevertheless, in the longer term, we expect a greater influx of workers from Ukraine, which should re-regulate the labor market. At present, we do not know what decisions the people of Ukraine will make after the end of the armed conflict. We all hope for a quick end to hostilities - summarizes the expert Axi Immi.
