Bauska is unique due to its geographical location, traffic infrastructure and deep-rooted business traditions, so the development of a logistics centre in this region is understandable.

Bauska Industrial and Logistics Park (BILP) is a 105-hectare area where all necessary communications are established and access roads are built. Bauska Municipality has had the idea of creating such a centre for several years already. Bauska is a city at the crossroads — an active highway crosses it, there is both a cargo port and an airport an hour’s drive away; a Rail Baltica railway station with cargo transshipment terminals is also planned in the city. Bauska is located near Riga, the capital of Latvia, and at the same time not far from the border of the neighbouring country Lithuania. There are long business traditions, especially agriculture, and the region is called a fertile land for business for good reason.

Bauska will be an important logistics centre

Ilze Tijone, Head of the Development and Planning Department of Bauska Municipality, outlines the advantages of BILP, “The advantages of the Bauska industrial park are mainly related to its geographical location and the possibility to flexibly provide land areas of up to 50 ha for the needs of investors.”
Speaking about the geographical location of BILP, Ilze Tijone reiterates that Bauska Municipality is part of the outer space of the Riga metropolitan area, which is characterised by higher economic activity and substantial push-pull migration of the population. The territory of Bauska Municipality is 2,173 square kilometres; the road network in the territory of Bauska Municipality is widely branched with a radial structure and provides convenient traffic both in the territory of Bauska region and also for transit. The total length of roads, bridges and streets in the region is 2,053 kilometres.
The largest airport in the Baltics, Riga Airport, is only an hour’s drive away. A large part of the territory of Bauska Municipality is located within the borders of Riga agglomeration; by building the Rail Baltica local railway station, the concept of distance to get to and from the capital will significantly change in the next ten years, and the attractiveness of Bauska Municipality for potential investors will increase along with the opportunities for further growth as a logistics centre. 
When speaking about the infrastructure provided for entrepreneurs, Ilze Tijone draws attention to the fact that, in order to develop a 70 ha production area, a street with a pedestrian and bicycle path, engineering networks, main rainwater drainage lines, sewer pipes, external electrical networks, communication sewer pipes, water supply pipelines, as well as a gas line was built.

Golden parking area for long-distance drivers

The construction of a service centre for long-distance trucks and drivers is currently actively underway in the territory of BILP. According to European standards, the project has been awarded gold status — this means that, along with the parking area, there will also be a comfortable hotel, a cafe and a car wash. 
In the city of Bauska, the average annual heavy traffic flow per day is 4,465 transport units, of which more than 3,000 cross the Grenctāle border point.
They are mostly Polish carriers that carry cargo from Eastern Europe to Northern Europe — mainly Finland, Estonia — and back (another 10% of carriers are from Lithuania and Estonia). The A7 Riga–Bauska–Lithuania border (Grenctāle) motor-road is always subject to the highest load.
Head of VISSA Ltd. Aleksandrs Petrašs emphasises that in a few years, when the Bauska bypass is built, this service centre could become very important. Aleksandrs Petrašs also has high hopes for the establishment of BILP, as it will allow the construction of both factories and warehouses next to the long-distance driver service centre, and it will reduce the transport expenses of manufacturers and industrialists, which will undoubtedly spark interest in developing production here.
Aleksandrs Petrašs stresses the potential of Bauska as a logistics centre, “I think that the industrial park of Bauska has a future, especially after building the bypass and Rail Baltica, as well as factories and logistics centres. Bauska can very easily become an important transport hub. For example, cargo travelling by rail can be loaded onto trucks here.”

Municipal support and qualified workforce

Nils Kazaks, board member of one of the oldest and most successful companies in Bauska — Bauskas Alus — agrees that Bauska has a suitable environment for business. He emphasises that qualified employees are especially vital for a successful Business, “An important component of the business environment is the availability of labour. We are lucky that the team of Bauskas Alus consists of competent and responsible employees who have worked there for many years and who demonstrate high loyalty to the brand, the employer, as well as Bauska Municipality.”
The entrepreneur admits that the experience of cooperation with the municipality and state institutions is also positive, “We are given clear demands and a welcoming attitude.”
When it comes to BILP’s development plans, Kazaks is extremely positive. He accentuates that every initiative promoting the development of the business environment is important and appreciated for Bauska Municipality, “The location of Bauska and the available infrastructure definitely open up a range of possibilities in logistics. Successful cooperation between the municipality and entrepreneurs can exploit this potential and ensure the development of Bauska as a logistics centre.”