The American computer company Intel wants to build two factories near Magdeburg. Farmers who sell their land can earn good money.
Two Intel computer chip and processor factories are to be built in an area near Magdeburg, in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt. The technology park, which will also house Intella’s cooperators and suppliers, will occupy a total area of 1,100 hectares. The company will have to pay dearly for the land, because it is the best agricultural soil in the region, Agrarheute reports.
250,000 euros per hectare!
The state authorities have established a company whose task is to purchase the needed land from farmers. Frank Ribbe, managing director of Landgesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt, the above-mentioned company, quoted by the German portal, gave the price that the American producer will have to pay EUR 25 per square meter of agricultural plots, i.e. EUR 250,000 per hectare. An agreement has just been reached with the investor in this case.
Work for land
The industrial park is to be built on very fertile land with top-class soil. Government negotiators had to take into account not only ensuring a decent existence for farmers who would be deprived of their land, but also the threat of an increase in food prices in the region when the number of farms producing food decreased. However, the investor convinced the authorities to locate the factories in this way, promising 10,000 new jobs.
Land purchases are still ongoing. Farmers who want to maintain their farms are offered land for exchange in addition to fair payment for the land.
Valuable soil recovered
Intel plans to start construction later this year. Before this is done, fertile soil from the construction site is to be collected and transported to distant fields. 1.3 million tons of topsoil are to be removed. It has been calculated that 80,000 dump trucks will be needed for this operation. Orders are already being accepted and contracts are being concluded for these soil deliveries.
Record price
EUR 250,000/ha is a record price for land. According to a German portal, in the region where the factories are to be built, the average price of agricultural land is EUR 50,000/ha, and the average price per hectare of agricultural land in Germany is a maximum of EUR 30,000. The industrial park in Börde is to cover an area of 1,500 football pitches.
– The fact that the best agricultural land has to give way to industry is very painful – commented Martin Dipp, president of the Saxony-Anhalt Farmers’ Association in Agraheute. He admitted, however, that the agreement with Intel “will have a positive impact on the economic development of the region.” However, as the portal notes, President Dippe also has his farm in Börde.
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