Valery Kyrylko, owner of the Industrial Parks of Ukraine group of companies, chairman of the board of the All-Ukrainian Association of Industrial Parks, took part in the registration of 45 industrial parks.
The meaning of the concept of an industrial park, which is registered and considered by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine. 
1. General understanding of the role of the concept
For many initiators who are first faced with the procedure for registering an industrial park, it is not entirely clear:
- in what format the concept is developed;
- what exactly it should reflect;
- what its practical significance is.
First of all, it is important to realize: the concept of an industrial park is not a business plan and is not a commercial model of the project.
2. The essence of the concept
The concept is a socio-economic memorandum of the initiator, which records his intention to develop an industrial park in a specific territory.
It:
- demonstrates a vision for the development of the territory;
- outlines the expected socio-economic effects;
- formalizes strategic intentions;
- is submitted for registration in accordance with the procedure established by law.
3. Theoretical nature of the document
In most cases, at the time of registration:
- the initiator has no specific participants or residents;
- there are no signed contracts with business entities;
- there is no finalized business model.
This is especially true for:
- 400;”> territorial communities;
- developers who initiate the creation of the park at an early stage.
Therefore, a significant part of the information set out in the concept is of a predictive and theoretical nature. It reflects intentions, not guaranteed results.
4. Practical strength of the concept
Giving the concept the status of a full-fledged investment project or business plan is difficult. It:
- does not guarantee the implementation of the specified indicators;
- does not fix strict financial obligations;
- is not an instrument for direct investment attraction.
Its main function is legal and declarative:
create a basis for including the park in the Register of Industrial Parks of Ukraine.
5. Expectations vs. actual results
The concept describes:
- expectations of the initiator from the implementation of the park;
- forecasted investment volumes;
- number of jobs;
- industry specialization.
However, in practice, when the park begins to develop, the final result often differs significantly from the initially declared one.
The difference between the concept and the actual development of an industrial park can be compared to the difference between a child and an adult:
Formally, this is the same subject, but the real state at the start and in the final result can be radically different.
Conclusion
The real meaning of the concept of an industrial park is the following:
- this is a strategic declaration of the initiator’s intentions;
- this is the legal basis for state registration of the park;
- this is a framework document outlining the socio-economic vision of the development of the territory;
- this is a starting point that does not determine the final model and final appearance of the project.
Thus, the concept is an initial program document, not a finalized investment product.
How long does it take from an idea to submitting documents to the Ministry of Economy
The duration of the preparatory stage — from the moment the initiator decides to create an industrial park to submitting documents to the Ministry of Economy — directly depends on the initial readiness of the project.
The key question: has a complete and correct package of basic documents been formed at the time of initiation?
The ideal scenario: when the documents are ready
If the land plot is properly designed, the title documents meet the requirements, the urban planning documentation is available, and the contractual relations are structured — the preparation process is predictable.
In this case the terms look like this:
- Development of the concept – from 1 to 1.5 months.
- Collection and formation of a package of documents – up to 1 week (provided they are actually ready).
- Submission to the Ministry of Economy – immediately after the package is finalized.
Under favorable conditions, the industrial park can be entered into the Register approximately three months after submitting the documents.
In a more realistic scenarios, taking into account possible comments, the procedure lasts from six to nine months.
The reason for the difference is in interdepartmental coordination. After the first round of consideration, the Ministry of Economy accumulates comments from relevant bodies. The time to eliminate them can be from several days to several months, which directly affects the overall registration period.
Typical situation: documents are not ready
In practice, a significant part of initiators apply with the intention to create a park, but without proper preparation of the underlying assets and documents for them.
The most common problems:
- unfinished or incorrectly executed land documents;
- errors in lease agreements;
- real estate objects not re-registered to the initiator;
- lack of up-to-date urban planning documentation.
In such cases, the preparatory stage may last not months, but years.
There were cases when the initial consultation on the creation of an industrial park took place in the spring of 2023, and the full package of documents for developing the concept was ready only in early 2025. That is, almost a year and a half was spent exclusively on:
- regulating land issues;
- re-registration of real estate;
- bringing contracts into compliance;
- development and approval of urban planning documentation.
And only after the completion of this stage did the direct development of the concept begin and submitting documents for registration.
Conclusion
The time from “we want to create a park” to submitting documents to the Ministry of Economy can be:
- 1.5–2 months – in case of full readiness for the start;
- 6–9 months or more – taking into account comments during the approval process;
- up to several years – if basic legal and urban planning issues are not regulated.
Thus, the speed of launching the registration procedure is determined not so much by the bureaucratic process as by the level of preliminary legal and infrastructure preparation of the project.
The most common mistakes when choosing a land plot for an industrial park
In most cases, the initiator does not choose a plot “from scratch”. In approximately 80% of applications, the customer already has a specific land plot – owned, leased, together with purchased real estate or obtained within the framework of partnership agreements. That is, the decision on the location is often historically determined.
At the same time, there are projects where the choice of a land plot precedes the creation of an industrial park. It is at this stage that the most strategic mistakes are made.
1. Underestimation of the technical characteristics of the site (Greenfield)
One of the key problems is a superficial assessment of the physical parameters of the territory.
These are:
- complex geology;
- wetlands;
- elevation differences;
- unfavorable soil conditions;
- need for extensive excavation work.
At the decision-making stage, these factors are often ignored or underestimated. As a result, the costs of engineering preparation of the territory can significantly exceed the initial calculations and make the project economically less attractive.
2. Absence or remoteness of engineering communications
The second systemic error is the selection of a site without proper assessment of access to infrastructure:
- electricity supply of the required capacity;
- gas supply;
- water supply and drainage;
- transport logistics.
Even if the connection is technically possible, the significant remoteness of the networks leads to a sharp increase in capital costs. In some cases, the cost of laying communications becomes a critical factor that slows down the implementation of the project.
3. Legal risks when choosing Brownfield objects
When it comes to the brownfield format (existing development), the risks shift to the legal plane.
Typical problems:
- complex structure of property ownership;
- inability to buy out individual buildings;
- restrictions on land use;
- non-compliance of the legal status of the land plot with the requirements of the legislation.
A separate category is land plots in permanent use (often a legacy of the Soviet period) or in the state form of use, which complicates or makes it impossible to apply for registration of an industrial park without prior re-registration.
Incomplete legal due diligence at the start can lead to delays lasting many months or even years.
4. Ignoring the labor factor
Another underestimated component is the human resource potential of the region.
Initiators often focus on land and infrastructure parameters, but do not analyze:
- availability of qualified labor;
- demographic situation;
- competitive environment on the labor market;
- 400;”> proximity to educational institutions and training centers.
Without understanding the sources of labor force formation, even an infrastructurally strong location can lose its investment attractiveness for residents.
Conclusion
The main mistakes when choosing a land plot for an industrial park are associated with underestimating four factors:
- technical suitability of the territory;
- accessibility of engineering infrastructure;
- 400;”>legal purity of assets;
- human resource potential of the region.
The decision on the location should be made not from the position of “the land is already there”, but from the position of the future economy of the park. It is a deep preliminary audit that determines whether the site will become a growth point or a source of systemic risks.
Experience in registering brownfield industrial parks
Brownfield industrial park projects account for about 30% of the total number of parks with which we have worked. This is a separate segment with its own specifics, primarily in terms of checking real estate and the legal status of the land plot.
Legislative restrictions: two key criteria
According to the Law of Ukraine “On Industrial Parks”, two fundamental safeguards are provided for parks created on the basis of existing industrial territories:
- Age of real estate objects – buildings and structures must be put into operation at least 10 years before the decision to create an industrial park is made.
- Lack of economic activity – no economic activity should be carried out on the territory for the last 5 years.
These requirements are aimed at preventing abuse and formal use of the industrial park mechanism to optimize the activities of existing enterprises.
The first stage: real estate audit
Working with a brownfield project always begins with a detailed analysis of:
- the actual condition of real estate;
- the history of their operation;
- 400;”>presence or absence of economic activity;
- the possibility of obtaining supporting documents, in particular, certificates in form No. 20-OPP.
It is important to establish whether the objects are in use at the time of preparation for registration and whether they meet the legislative criteria.
The second stage: the legal status of the land plot
An analysis of land documents is no less critical.
A common problem is short-term lease agreements. To register an industrial park, it is necessary that:
- the lease term is at least 30 years;
- the contract expressly provides for the tenant’s right to create an industrial park.
In the absence of these conditions, the registration procedure is impossible without prior re-registration of documents.
Thus, the initial stage of working with a brownfield is actually legal “territory preparation”: bringing real estate and land documents into line.
Further procedure: similar greenfield
After the legal issues are resolved, the procedure follows the standard algorithm:
- analysis of community potential;
- assessment of engineering infrastructure;
- formation of a financial and economic model;
- development of a concept;
- submission of documents for registration and passing of interdepartmental approval.
Apart from specific requirements for the age of the facilities and the absence of activity, the mechanics of registration do not differ from other industrial parks.
Conclusion
Brownfield projects have the potential for faster launch due to existing development and infrastructure. However, their key difficulty lies in the legal aspect.
A qualitative preliminary check of real estate and land rights determines whether such a project will become a real tool for revitalizing the territory or turn into a long process of eliminating legal inconsistencies.
Specialization or universality: which model to choose for an industrial park
The question of choosing between narrow specialization and a universal format of an industrial park does not have a universal answer. Practice shows that the development model is most often formed “from the back” – based on existing assets or an anchor investor.
When specialization is formed naturally
If the initiator already has an industrial asset or a specific investor, it is he who determines the profile of the park.
For example, during the registration of the industrial park “BF Terminal” in the Transcarpathian region, specialization was formed around woodworking. The anchor enterprise was an MDF production plant, which occupies about 70% of the park’s territory. Accordingly, the remaining area is oriented towards enterprises related to this industry – furniture manufacturers and other companies that use MDF in their activities.
A similar logic was applied when creating the industrial park “Krasyliv Technopark”, surrounded by enterprises in the metalworking industry. The initiators chose a profile that organically corresponds to the economic environment of the region.
In such cases, specialization is economically justified and enhances synergy between residents.
When a universal format is appropriate
A different situation is when there is no anchor investor or production that occupies a significant part of the territory at the start.
In such cases, it is more appropriate to choose a universal park format. This allows:
- to maintain flexibility in negotiations with potential residents;
- not to limit the range of investors;
- to adapt to market conditions.
At the same time, even a universal park must take into account regional characteristics. For example, it is inappropriate to consider the chemical industry in recreational or environmentally sensitive areas. Such restrictions are usually fixed in the concept and taken into account by the management company when selecting residents.
The influence of the regional context
Often, initiators focus on the historical specialization of the region – the agricultural sector, metalworking, mechanical engineering, etc. However, this does not always mean a strict limitation of the profile.
In practice, if a large investor from another industry comes to the “agricultural” or “metalworking” park, capable of providing significant investments and jobs, specialization does not become a barrier. The main thing is compliance with the legislation and strategic interests of the community.
Conclusion
The selection strategy looks like this:
- if there is an anchor investor or production that determines the profile of the park, specialization is formed around it;
- if there is no such investor, it is more expedient to choose a universal format taking into account environmental and regional restrictions.
Thus, specialization is not an end in itself, but a tool for development. It should stem from the economic logic of the project, and not from formal positioning.
Motivation of initiators: who and why creates industrial parks
During negotiations with potential initiators of industrial parks, different motivation models are clearly visible. They can be conditionally divided into three main groups and several less common categories.
1. Industrial initiator: a park for their own production
The largest category today is industrial companies that create an industrial park for the development of their own enterprise.
This is a model in which:
- the park is formed around anchor production;
- a significant part of the territory is used by the initiator himself;
- the status of an industrial park is considered as a tool for scaling and attracting adjacent residents.
Currently, this type of customer dominates: about 60% of parks that are in the process of registration belong to industrial initiators. For businesses, this is a way to systematize the development of production and integrate it into the format of an organized industrial ecosystem.
2. Development model: industrial park as an investment product
The second common type is developers.
These are companies that:
- own an industrial area or lease a land plot;
- register it as an industrial park;
- build or reconstruct production and warehouse facilities;
- they are leased or sold to residents.
In this model, an industrial park is a structured development project with a projected monetization model: lease of space, sale of land or finished real estate.
3. Communities: a tool for economic development
The third category is local governments.
For communities, an industrial park is a mechanism for:
- attracting investments;
- creating jobs;
- expanding the tax base;
- 400;”>stimulation of regional development.
At the same time, the share of communities among initiators has significantly decreased. If before the full-scale war they formed up to 80% of requests, today their share is approximately 15–20%. The activity of private business currently prevails.
Less common models
A separate category is made up of the so-called investment-speculative initiators. These are owners of land plots or old industrial zones who:
- register an industrial park;
- increase the investment attractiveness of the asset;
- subsequently sell it to a developer or strategic investor.
There are also isolated cases when the motivation is rather situational – creating a park “as a trend” without a clear economic justification or development strategy. Such initiatives, as a rule, require additional conceptualization, because the status of an industrial park in itself is not a business model.
Conclusion
The initiator’s motivation determines the architecture of the future project.
- Industrial business creates a park as a scaling tool.
- Developer — as a structured investment product.
- Community — as a mechanism for the economic development of the territory.
Understanding this motivation at the start allows you to correctly form the concept, financial model and strategy for attracting residents.
Has a consulting market for industrial park initiators formed in Ukraine?
The market for consulting services in the field of creating and registering industrial parks in Ukraine already exists. At the same time, it remains narrow and uncompetitive.
The reason is simple: this is a specialized niche with a limited number of customers. We are not talking about thousands of clients, but rather about dozens of potential initiators every year. Therefore, the market does not have the scale typical of classic legal or development consulting.
Market structure and share of profile players
Over the past six years, we have registered 45 industrial parks out of 80 created during this period in Ukraine. That is, in fact, about 60% of all registered parks and up to 80% of the profile consulting segment belong to our company.
Other parks are mostly registered independently by initiators. As practice shows, this often means re-submission of documents, refinement of concepts and passing several iterations of approval.
Who else works in this market?
Competition is present, but it is fragmented. There are mainly two types of companies:
- Law firms.
Some law firms provide industrial park registration services as an additional option for their clients. Often, customers perceive the creation of an industrial park as a purely legal procedure. In fact, this is a complex process that covers not only legal, but also economic, urban planning, infrastructure and investment aspects.
For most law firms, this service is not a core business – it is considered an additional direction for monetizing the client base.
- Design and engineering companies.
Architectural bureaus and design organizations that develop detailed plans of territories, master plans or industrial real estate projects sometimes receive a request from the customer to support the registration of an industrial park. Some of them provide such services.
However, as in the case of law firms, this direction is usually not their main one.
Question of quality and specialization
The key problem for additional players is not the availability of competence as such, but the level of concentration on this product. If the registration of an industrial park is not the main specialization of the company, it, as a rule, does not form a deep expertise in the following areas:
- strategic positioning of the park;
- modeling of the future structure of residents;
- preparation of the concept taking into account the requirements of the Ministry of Economy;
- construction of the logic of interaction between the initiator, the management company and potential investors.
It is precisely because of the narrowness of the niche that the number of companies that systematically and regularly work in this segment remains limited – there are no more than a dozen of them throughout the country.
Conclusion
Consulting in the field of creating industrial parks in Ukraine has already formed as a separate direction, but remains a highly specialized market with a small number of players. Most services are provided by specialized companies, while other market participants work in this segment episodically, as an additional direction of their main activity.
Changing the balance: from community dominance to private initiative
Even before the start of the full-scale war, I emphasized: without the active participation of private business, the industrial parks market will not be able to reach a qualitatively new level of development. While the initiative remained mainly with the communities, the industry was actually “staggering in place”.
The situation began to change in 2022 after the introduction of legislative preferences for industrial parks, and from 2024 – after the emergence of mechanisms for direct state financial support. These two factors became the trigger for the activation of the private sector.
Dynamics of proportions: the numbers speak for themselves
By 2022, the market structure looked like this:
- about 80% — municipal parks,
- about 20% — private.
Today, the situation is fundamentally different. Every year, 60–70% of new registrations fall on private industrial parks. In the general structure, the proportion has already been formed:
- 65% — private parks,
- 35% — municipal and state.
This is a systemic shift that indicates the transition of the market to another phase of development.
Why municipal parks developed slowly
Communal initiatives have traditionally faced a number of limitations:
- shortage of financial resources;
- lack of managerial and strategic competencies;
- lack of experience in implementing large-scale development projects;
- underdeveloped market for professional management companies.
Even today, the number of network management companies capable of systematically developing industrial parks remains limited. And without a strong operator, an industrial park rarely moves from declaration to real industrialization.
Why private parks have a higher probability of success
For private business, an industrial park is not a social project, but an investment model.
A private initiator immediately answers key questions:
- where will the financing come from;
- what is the business model;
- what are the sources of income;
- who will be the resident;
- what is the marketing and investor attraction strategy?
This can be:
- development of own industrial production,
- development model with subsequent delivery or sale of objects,
- combined strategy with multiple revenue streams.
That is why the probability of successful implementation private industrial parks is significantly higher.
Result: real growth of active parks
The best indicator of the effectiveness of the trend is the number of actually operating parks.
By the beginning of 2022, there were only four active industrial parks in Ukraine.
As of today, there are already 37 of them – and most of this growth has occurred over the past four years.
Of course, this is the result of complex factors, but one of the key drivers was the growth in the share of private initiatives. A business that sees economic sense and its own benefit in the park is able to move the project from the concept stage to the stage of real industrialization much faster.
Conclusion
The shift in the balance in favor of private industrial parks is a positive and strategically important trend. It indicates the market is maturing, its investment attractiveness is increasing, and the transition from formal registration to practical implementation of industrial projects.
