The Cádiz Free Trade Zone Consortium and the Jerez City Council will formalize a agreement by which the Consortium will open a line of action in the municipality of Jerez. The agreement will involve a global investment of about 10 million euros and will contemplate the rehabilitation of the San Agustín convent to turn it into a business center and the reorganization of Plaza Esteve, with the demolition of the old IARA building that currently houses offices of the Junta de Andalucía and the Environment.
This was announced yesterday Tuesday by the State delegate in the Free Trade Zone, Jorge Ramos, and the mayor of Jerez, María José García-Pelayo, who also highlighted that this is only a "first step of collaboration between both institutions", so They announced that during the next four years new projects and agreements will be established. In this sense, Ramos recognized that "the Free Trade Zone had until now an important debt with the city of Jerez that we will try to alleviate in the coming years."
The Free Trade Zone delegate highlighted that the project to build a business center in the convent of San Agustín was born because "the Consortium puts all its efforts at the service of entrepreneurs, of small businesses, which are the ones that generate employment. It is necessary "entrepreneurs who create companies to generate employment." The work has an investment of 7.5 million euros (includes FEDER Funds) and a space of 7,000 square meters. The technicians are currently finalizing the project and the Free Trade Zone expects it to be tendered and awarded in the second half of 2012 with the idea that the work can begin this same year.
The Consortium already has experience in launching these service buildings or business centers, in fact it already has one in Cádiz, in the Port and in Algeciras, with an occupancy of between 85 and 90% and that houses SMEs. who do not have sufficient resources or logistical capacity to create their own companies. "Experience in other cities tells us that these centers work very well and that they allow small freelancers to have their own space that varies depending on their needs, with common spaces such as meeting rooms or auditoriums, at a competitive price" , assured the delegate of the Free Zone.
For its part, Esteve's project contemplates the reorganization of the central square with the aim of encouraging commerce in the city center. This action will have an approximate budget of 1.5 million and will involve the demolition of the building that currently houses the offices of the Environment delegation and the subsequent reorganization of the area surrounding the façade of the central food market, in order to enhance this important infrastructure from a commercial and tourist point of view. The start of this work would depend on the actions carried out in the convent of San Agustín since, as the two works are very close, it would be necessary to determine how they are carried out to avoid traffic problems in the city center.
