Light Industrial standard may appear in Russia

The Association of Industrial Parks of Russia has launched work on preparing the National Standard GOST “Universal Industrial Complexes Light Industrial”. It may be approved by Rosstandart by the end of the year. This was announced by the Executive Director of the AIP Denis Zhuravsky at the conference “RE-DIGEST: Classification of Light Industrial”, organized by VTB and Ricci.

The Light Industrial format has been in great demand in recent years, as it allows for a flexible approach to space planning. It involves combining production facilities, warehouses and offices in one building and the ability to combine their proportions depending on the needs of residents. Multi-storey planning is allowed. Fundamental differences from an industrial park: no requirements for the size of the land plot and reduced electricity standards. The management company is also not mandatory if Light Industrial facilities are located inside an existing industrial park or SEZ.

The AIP initiative is not the only one in the field of universal industrial buildings. Thus, the newly created consortium “Alliance of Real Estate Market Experts” (Skladman USG, Ricci, VTB Bank and other participants) presented to market participants the inter-corporate “Classification of the Light Industrial Market”, it includes: a product line, classification of objects, a system for their assessment and rating.

It is assumed that the GOST prepared by the AIP of Russia and the accompanying Light Industrial certification system will open up the possibility of applying state support (subsidies and benefits) to such objects and will prevent unfair competition in the real estate market, and the classification will become a corporate tool for assessing projects for investors and the banking sector.

The draft Standard has been prepared and will be presented for public discussion at the next General Meeting of Members of the Association of Industrial Parks of Russia in the summer of 2025. After approval by the majority of market participants, the Standard will be submitted for approval to Rosstandart as a GOST.

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