It’s a critical decision for the manufacturer to make when purchasing industrial land. Buying industrial land of the wrong size can be costly for the business. If you buy land of a smaller size, you have to compromise on production and storage capacity, and no space to grow. When you buy more land than you need, you pay for the spaces you don’t use. How do you decide on the size of the industrial land?
When evaluating an industrial plot for sale in Kolkata, you must understand how much space your manufacturing units need. The blog guides you on which factors to check when buying one. Ganesh Complex is a top-rated industrial land provider that works with manufacturers across businesses. Choosing the right size of industrial land is one of the most vital considerations.
Most manufacturers underestimate this. A rough starting point: budget 40% of your plot for the production floor, 25% for storage, 20% for loading and vehicle movement, and hold back 15–20% for the day you need to expand. Add it up — production plus storage plus circulation plus expansion — and that’s your land requirement. Buyers who skip the expansion buffer are usually back looking for a new plot within three to five years.
Which Factors Decide the Right Amount of Industrial Land?
There’s no fixed answer, as your specific business operations determine it. Here’s what you should check.
- Manufacturing area: Your facility layout, the space between machines, and the space needed for safety measures take away usable square footage far beyond what land buyers imagine.
- Storage space: Space for raw materials, semi-finished goods, and finished products should also be included in the calculation. More often than not, the demand for storage space and production send you in two different directions.
- Loading dock and transportation: Trucks, pallets, and loading docks require a certain turning radius and space to queue. This is usually underestimated and leads to concerns during operations.
- Comfortable workspace for employees: Bathrooms, parking spaces, electrical rooms, and spaces needed by law require a percentage of the site.
- Appropriate site area: Most experienced buyers add 20–30% to the land area to account for production development and avoid relocation within the next three to five years.
Failure to account for any one of the above-mentioned factors will lead to a shortage of land over time.
Industrial VS Commercial Properties
Before deciding on industrial land, it is critical to know the difference between industrial and commercial properties, as these two categories are priced differently due to different construction and zoning requirements.
- The industrial property is designed for production, processing, storage, and the use of heavy machinery. Industrial properties have high floor weight capacity, high ceilings, three-phase electricity, and wide access roads designed for heavy traffic. Thus, zoning approvals apply only to production and storage activity.
- On the other hand, commercial property, whose construction follows the principles of office space, showroom, and retail space design, is based on the availability of customers and their shopping experience rather than machines functioning and heavy logistics.
For a manufacturer, buying land zoned commercial instead of industrial might prolong the approval process, lead to the acquisition of unsuitable infrastructure or necessitate later costly modifications. That is why manufacturers on the lookout for industrial land plots for sale in Kolkata need to make sure that zoning as well as infrastructure requirements are confirmed before the purchase.
A Simple Way to Calculate Your Land Requirement
An estimate of what land area is needed can be calculated by adding up four areas:
Production space + storage space + circulation/loading space + expansion space = land area
For instance, a medium-sized manufacturer may spend 40% of its land on production, 25% on storage, 20% on circulation/product loading, and the remaining 15%-20% reserved for future development. While the specific mix varies by industry, the principle is the same. It allows for future growth in addition to the space currently required.
A Simple Way to Calculate Your Land Requirement
| Land Requirement Formula | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Production space + storage space + circulation/loading space + expansion space = land area | An estimate of what land area is needed can be calculated by adding up these four areas. |
| Production space | 40% of its land on production. |
| Storage space | 25% on storage. |
| Circulation/loading space | 20% on circulation/product loading. |
| Expansion space | The remaining 15%-20% reserved for future development. |
| Note | While the specific mix varies by industry, the principle is the same. It allows for future growth in addition to the space currently required. |
In general, it costs more to buy little space and have to move later than it does to buy more than is needed.
Why Location Matters as Much as Size
Having ample land only partially addresses the problem of setting up operations in the chosen location. Real productivity is dependent on the location of the land in terms of its distance from major roads and transport facilities, with delivery costs being affected by its proximity to transport hubs.
The facilities of Ganesh Complex are situated on NH‐16 Bombay Road. They are located particularly close to Howrah Bridge and Howrah Station, which gives manufacturers direct connection to major transport routes in and out of Kolkata. Founded in 2009, the logistics parks by Ganesh Complex, located at Ranihati I, Ranihati I Phase II, Ranihati II, Raghudebpur, and Uluberia, are built primarily with this aspect in mind. This is why such companies like Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Kirloskar, DHL, VRL Logistics, and Damro run their businesses here.
Manufacturers comparing leasing options and prices will find the current rate of leasing in the parks to be from ₹12 to ₹36 depending on each park and site configuration.
Conclusion
You must remain transparent about your current operational needs when choosing industrial land for your business. When you are gearing up for rapid business growth, the decision needs certain considerations. Just picking up a number isn’t enough. Production space, storage capacity, vehicle movement, and growth rate are the major deciding factors behind an industrial land purchase.
If you are looking to buy an industrial plot for sale in Kolkata, the logistics parks across Ranihati I, Ranihati I Phase II, Raghudebpur, and Uluberia bring you flexible plot sizes for manufacturers at different stages of growth.
