Systemic failure in industrial land governance: A geospatial audit of allocation, occupation and utilization in Shaggar City, Ethiopia

Poor industrial land governance is a major challenge to sustainable development in rapidly urbanizing cities in Africa, and the evidence remains mostly qualitative. This research fills the gap by carrying out the first combined geospatial-institutional audit of an emerging industrial hub: Shaggar City, Ethiopia. Administrative records and spatial data of all 2277 registered manufacturing industries were analyzed through four industrial land governance dimensions: documentation, allocation, occupation, and utilization. The findings show a systemic industrial land governance failure: only 16.3% of industries have complete documentation; 26.7% are irregular in terms of records (237.5 ha); 66.8% have encroached beyond their legal boundaries; and 72% are underutilized their plots, with one-third operating at a Floor Area Ratio of 25% or less. Theoretically, the paper illustrates the interaction between institutional fragmentation and the urban political economy of the city to cause and spatially embed these multidimensional failures, thus normalizing illegality and fostering speculation. The study not only presents a workable diagnostic tool but also puts forward a reform strategy based on six pillars that could be implemented. The paper suggests a six-pillar reform plan, proposing a transferable approach both for diagnosis and for addressing industrial land governance issues in the Global South.