Invest in Liège Economic Activities The City of Liège, the heart of the third biggest conurbation in Belgium (its urban area boasts a population of 600,000), is the economic capital of the Walloon region, the French-speaking region at the South of Belgium. Business conditions in the property market Since the start of the 2000s, the property market in Liège has been on the rise, both in terms of the number of transactions and levels of prices. Strategic location Situated less than 20 km (around 12 miles) from the Netherlands and a little more than 40 km (around 24 miles) from Germany, the city of Liège, the Eastern “gateway of Brussels”, boasts an outstanding geographical situation at the heart of Europe. It makes the very most of this location as part of the Meuse-Rhine Eurogegion, a cross-border area including the cities of Aachen, Hasselt, Heerlen, Liège and Maastricht. The economic development plan The economic development plan for the City of Liège is built around the major urban arteries which are also the gateways to the city. It involves promoting the various property opportunities located around these structural axes. The advantage of this approach is that it encourages the economic development of sites available on the different axes without disturbing residential pockets. This allows a balance to be maintained between economic development on the one hand and the residential character of the different districts on the other hand. Shops Liège city centre plays host to more than 2,000 shops with a total retail surface area of approximately 300,000 m². University - a crossroads for know-how Present for the last two hundred years in this thousand year old city, a renowned intellectual centre since the Middle Ages (in the 11th century, Liège was known as the “Athens of the North”), the University of Liège (ULg) is a higher education establishment with an open outlook on the world, a crossroads for teaching, research and innovation at the intersection between international routes and European cultures. Investor Welcome Unit We have many missions that are conducted in close collaboration with the city’s other departments and our network of partners (SPI, GRE, FOREM, AWEX, Meusinvest, Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Liège autonomous port, etc.). Our partners The City of Liège’s investor assistance unit is a member of the “Invest in Liège” working group. This group aims to coordinate the initiatives of various partners that are active in promoting the economic development of the Liège conurbation.