Zurich ready to finance the Innovation Park

The canton of Zurich plans to build the Innovation Park on a section of the Dübendorf Airfield site, which is owned by the Confederation. In 2015, the canton, the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and the Zürcher Kantonalbank founded the Innovation Park Zurich Foundation to build and operate the park.

Now, the cantonal government has applied to the cantonal parliament for a guarantee credit of 217.6 million francs, according to a statement. The application states that the credit will be used to finance the building rights from the Confederation at 84.5 million francs, the development and construction of the park at 85.7 million francs and the support of the foundation at 47.4 million francs. According to the cantonal government, the pre-financing, loans and building rights will be refinanced over time, with the foundation unable to pay back 30 million francs in a worst-case scenario.

The site will be developed by a development company with a private partner bearing primary responsibility. This company will develop and partially implement the first 36-hectare stage of the Innovation Park.

The Innovation Park in Dübendorf is one of five national Innovation Parks. It is designed to build on the cantonal location promotion’s existing cluster strategy, facilitate existing and future companies' access to academic research and strengthen networks between key players in research and the economy, writes the government in its communication to the cantonal parliament. The park will bring together the entire innovation value chain – from research and development to incubator and startup and market launch.