The China-Belgium Technology Center (CBTC) was officially opened yesterday in Louvain-la-Neuve. This 82,000 m² complex of incubators should accommodate 200 Chinese and European companies and create 1,600 jobs, 60% of which should be filled by Belgians. A massive project, the indirect benefits of which will be enormous for Wallonia.
The realisation of this project is the result of a long-term undertaking conducted by the Wallonia Export-Investment Agency in partnership with the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve and IBW (Intermunicipal Company of Walloon Brabant).
Wallonia was competing against France, the Netherlands and Germany to receive this investment. The Walloon strengths that tipped the balance? The proximity of UCL, Wallonia's excellence in the biotechnology sector and cutting-edge research centres.
This complex will include several incubators where high tech companies can develop, mainly in the biotechnology, digital (particularly e-commerce) and environmental sectors. This is of course a gateway for Chinese companies wanting to establish themselves on the European market, but with this investment of 200 million euros (through the shareholder United Investment Group), the Chinese province of Hubei also hopes to attract Belgian and European investors. The principle of cross-incubation will benefit both Chinese companies and Walloon start-ups wishing to enter the Chinese market.
This is a great opportunity for UCL, which already has agreements with over forty Chinese universities, including the prestigious University of Wuhan. "The CBTC will influence the dynamic of the researchers and intensify exchanges between Belgian and Chinese students", says Vincent Blondel, Rector of UCL.
Based in the Louvain-la-Neuve Science Park, the centre will house a business centre, laboratories and many homes and shops. Construction, which should take 8 years, is set to begin this autumn. The first buildings should emerge by 2018.
