Grupo DIA and Aquila Capital inaugurate the first logistics warehouse of Illescas Green Logistics

March 10, 2022

José Manuel Tofiño, mayor of Illescas, Miguel López, general director of AQ Acentor -partner company of Aquila Capital for real estate development in Spain- and Ricardo Álvarez, CEO of DIA Spain, inaugurated this morning the warehouse of about 68,000 square meters in which about 580 DIA employees will work on and that has meant an investment of around 50 million for Aquila Capital.

The new facility will serve DIA stores in the Community of Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and part of Castilla y León and represents its main logistics center nationwide.

The delivery of the warehouse to DIA Group is the first of the construction milestones of the Illescas Green Logistics Park by Aquila Capital project, which includes five other logistics developments.

Green Logistics by Aquila Capital, a development area for the logistics business of Aquila Capital in Spain and Europe, and DIA Group, a leading network in proximity supermarkets, have been protagonists of the delivery ceremony of the first warehouse built by Green Logistics by Aquila Capital for the food chain in Illescas.

The meeting was attended by the mayor of Illescas Mr. José Manuel Tofiño, the delegate of the Junta in Toledo, Mr. Javier Úbeda, the delegate of Economy, Business and Employment of the Junta in Toledo, Mr. Julián Martín, and the general director of IPEX, Mr. Luis Noé.

Mr. José Manuel Tofiño for his part recalled that “just a few months ago, last June, I remember being in this same place presenting this project that is already a reality. A project that will help the growth of the logistics fabric of Illescas, and most importantly, generates wealth and new jobs.”

The event, which has included an official visit to the facilities, had a formal act of “inaugural ribbon cutting” by the mayor of Illescas and the directors of the companies.

The warehouse delivered to DIA is part of the Illescas Green Logistics Parks project, a logistics development of 472,878 square meters spread over six plots within the Iberum Central Platform, in Illescas. The warehouse has a total area of 68,000 square meters and sustainability standards such as BREEAM qualification and solar panels on the roof. The total investment of the project is close to 50 million euros.

The new logistics center of DIA Group in Illescas is, to date, DIA’s largest warehouse in Spain. It is not just the key point of preparation and distribution in the downtown area, but it is also formed as a central warehouse for the entire network of DIA stores existing in Spain. In this context, this logistics center of DIA Group in Illescas will help the company to optimize the logistics process, providing important improvements in the main areas of the warehouse (reception, dispatch, preparation, reverse logistics). In addition, these facilities are adapted to the needs of the collaborators and suppliers of the distribution company.

The CEO of DIA Spain, Ricardo Álvarez, pointed out during the opening ceremony the pride and gratitude of the chain with the town of Toledo, and stressed that “the logistics center of Illescas is the first milestone of the new generation of DIA Spain warehouses, specially created to adapt to the current and future needs we have as a company. At DIA we are in the process of transformation, of the strategy, of the business model, of the processes and of the offer, but, above all, of the way of doing and understanding the relationships. In short, a milestone that allows us to continue promoting the company’s evolution to fulfill our purpose of being CLOSER EVERY DAY, making DIA the preferred experience of proximity shopping and being a leading operator in the distribution of food in the geographies in which we operate”.

In the words of Miguel López, CEO of AQ Acentor, real estate development partner of Aquila Capital in Spain: “The delivery of the warehouse to DIA Group is a great milestone for the company as it is the first project we completed by Green Logistics in Spain. Illescas Green Logistics Park is a key development within the company’s expansion strategy in the logistics sector, not just because of its size but also for its excellent location within a logistics hub as important as Illescas. For this reason, I thank the commitment of those who have made this project possible, the authorities and DÍA Group, with whom we hope to continue collaborating in future projects”.

 

About Green Logistics
Green Logistics by Aquila Capital is the company’s logistics business line. Aquila Capital has extensive experience in the logistics sector, with projects in several European countries since 2012. It currently develops and manages assets in Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Green Logistics, the Group’s business line specialized in the logistics sector, has an accumulated investment of more than 729 million euros with a total leasable area managed of more than 879 thousand square meters. In the Iberian Peninsula Aquila Capital currently has more than 750,000 square meters of logistics area. All Green Logistics projects are developed under the standards of energy efficiency and sustainability in the supply chain, thus contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions.

About Aquila Capital
Aquila Capital is an investment and asset development company focused on the generation and management of essential assets on behalf of its clients. Through investment in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, Aquila Capital contributes to the global energy transition and strengthens the infrastructure network worldwide. The company creates, develops, and manages these essential assets throughout the entire value chain and their useful life. Currently, Aquila Capital manages around 14 billion euros on behalf of institutional investors around the world, wind, solar and hydropower assets with a capacity of around 12 GW and has completed or under development more than 1.8 million square meters of sustainable real estate and green logistics projects.

The company has around 600 employees of 48 different nationalities and operates in 16 offices in 15 countries around the world.

Every day closer
Distribuidora Internacional de Alimentación is a leading network in local supermarkets, with nearly 6,000 own stores and franchises in Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and Argentina. With the commitment of its more than 38,000 employees worldwide and its mainly local suppliers, DIA offers the best offer and the best service to its more than 20 million customers.