The Government of Aragón has invested more than 2 Billion Euros in creating a dedicated firm, Plataforma Logística de Zaragoza (PLAZA), near Zaragoza, the capital city of Aragón. PLAZA oversees a 11 Million square meter complex of distribution centers, warehouses, transportation facilities, freeways, a dry port and intermodal services. The aim is to make Zaragoza a major logistics center for Europe.
Inside the new logistics park the government is creating an international center for education and research in logistics and supply chain management, the Zaragoza Logistics Center (ZLC). Seeing the potential of putting “a university within a large-scale laboratory” led Yossi Sheffi to spearhead the movement to bring MIT expertise to the ZLC. Sheffi heads the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics. “PLAZA companies will work with researchers at the ZLC and MIT to experiment with new logistics processes, concepts and technologies developed at the Center,” Sheffi explains. First courses will be offered in Fall 2004.