This is a project that was to promote the creation of economic relations between Belgium and China: the installation of a business incubator in Louvain-la Neuve. The project, launched in 2016, was to welcome Chinese and Belgian companies from 2020, on a huge site of 60,000 m². Except that today, there is still no worker on site. And the place seems abandoned. So what regarding it?
In 2018, an RTL INFO team visited the site of the future business incubator in Louvain-la-Neuve. We were even able to meet the future Chinese occupants of the centre. “We are looking forward to settling in Belgium”said one of them.
4 years later, the construction site is almost finished. But on the site, not a single worker, not a company… No activity. Initially, the 800 workers – half of whom came from China – were to settle in Louvain-la-Neuve in the fall of 2020.
But today, the place seems abandoned. Nature has even settled there. “It gives the impression of a completely wild place”notes Philippe Engels, founder of the blog ‘Nationale 4’. “At the beginning, it was advertised as an important technological showcase for China and Belgium. When I entered the site, I realized that was not really the case. I rather see a district or a completely abandoned center with weeds growing everywhere”he regrets.
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So is the place actually abandoned? We checked inside this incubator. Its director agreed to give us a site visit. “In terms of office towers, we are on towers that are around 4,500 m2”underlines Eric Touati, director of the Chinese incubator.
Perhaps an effect of our presence there? The place seems more maintained. Workers are finalizing the site during our visit. But the manager admits, not everything went as planned, especially for the 170-room hotel. “Currently, the hotel business is a bit complicated. We are of course not spared. We hope to open the hotel operation around the end of 2024”informs the director.
And for the rest of the 60,000 m2 of the site, he hopes to be occupied by the end of this year. Especially for the lobby. “The aim of the interior designer was really to bring back a little bit of warmth and so that in a few months – probably in the next 5 months – everything will be finished”he said.
All that remains is to attract companies and staff to these empty offices. This is the real cause of all this delay, and it is linked to the health crisis. “Covid has been a rather extraordinary setback for the possibility of Chinese companies coming to Europe. Because currently, they cannot come. And this, since January 2020”continues Eric Touati.
And without these companies, it is impossible to really start the activity of this Belgian-Chinese high-tech center, because the 100 million euros of works have been invested by China.
