Zona Franca (, also called in ca, Polígon Industrial de la Zona Franca) is a

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...

and industrial area located in the

Sants-Montjuïc Sants-Montjuïc () is one of the ten districts into which Barcelona has been split since 1984, numbered District 3. Comprising very different areas of the city, it covers the southern part of Barcelona, joining the two former districts ''II'' (mad ...

district of

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Together with the adjacent

Port of Barcelona Managed by Spanish Government The Port of Barcelona ( ca, Port de Barcelona, ; es, Puerto de Barcelona) has a 150-year history and great contemporary commercial importance as one of Europe's major ports in the Mediterranean. It is also Spain's th ...

it forms the neighborhood Zona Franca – Port. It is located in the

Llobregat Delta The Llobregat Delta ( ca, Delta del Llobregat) is the delta of the Llobregat river, located near the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, northeastern Spain. The current delta has been altered by farming, urban development, industrialisation and transpo ...

between the Port of Barcelona and

Barcelona Airport Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

. The

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

line L10 connects Zona Franca with central Barcelona and the rest of the metropolitan area since 2018. The origins and the name of the area date back to an attempt to create a

free port Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which com ...

in Barcelona which ultimately failed in 1929. With Catalonia's

industrialisation Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

in the 1950s the space was used to construct factories.

Main industries

Opened in 1953, the original

SEAT, S.A. A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...

factory and production line is located in Zona Franca. Following SEAT's acquisition by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

automotive giant

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

, the

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...

no longer produces

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

, but is instead now solely used as a press shop, stamping out metal body panels. It currently employs 1,269 people. The area also has a

Nissan Motors , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun brands, ...

factory, which produces the

Nissan Navara The Nissan Navara is a nameplate used for Nissan pickup trucks with D21, D22, D40 and D23 model codes. The nameplate has been used in Australia, New Zealand, Central America, South America, Asia, Europe, and South Africa. In North, Central a ...

, the

Nissan Pulsar The is a line of automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2000, when it was replaced by the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy in the Japanese market. Between 2000 and 2005, the name "Pulsar" has been used in Australia and New ...

and the

Nissan NV200 The Nissan NV200 is a light commercial and leisure activity, 4/5-door van designed and produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan since 2009. Overview The vehicle was previewed as the NV200 Concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, followed by ...

(both electric and combustion engine versions). The

Mercabarna Mercabarna is a food-trading estate that concentrates wholesale markets (fruit and vegetables, fish and flowers) and Barcelona's abattoir, as well as a large area of complementary activities (ZAC), boasting some 450 fresh-food preparation, commerci ...

food-trading estate opened in the Zona Franca in 1971 with the transfer of the central fruit and vegetable market, which since 1921 had been in

el Born La Ribera (, 'The Shore') is one of the areas of the quarter of Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera of Ciutat Vella ("the old city") of Barcelona. Overview Many of the buildings date from late Medieval times. It was a well-to-do quarter duri ...

. It was followed by the slaughterhouse in 1979, the central fish market in 1973 and the central flower market in 1974.

References

Sants-Montjuïc Industrial parks in Spain {{industry-stub

Main industries

See also

References