It is also worth noting that as of today, other actions of the project have already been completed, such as the rehabilitation of the annex building, in the absence of cleaning, and the redevelopment of Puerto Street.
The Free Trade Zone delegate reiterates that “we have come to stay in Jerez with strategic projects that generate wealth and job creation”
María José García-Pelayo appreciates the commitment of Zona Franca to the city, with actions such as Plaza Esteve, the creation of a free warehouse or the rehabilitation of El Portal, which will begin in the coming days
The mayor, María José García-Pelayo, together with the Special State Delegate of the Free Trade Zone Consortium, Jorge Ramos, yesterday visited the rehabilitation works of the old convent of San Agustín, which began last January and which has an investment of about five million euros. The recovery of this emblematic building of the city aims to create a modern business and business services center, a strategic project of great importance for Jerez and the province.
Present at the visit were the Urban Planning delegate, Agustín Muñoz, the District Participation and Coordination delegate, José Galvín, and the Infrastructure Councilor, María José Rúa, as well as technical staff from both the Free Zone and the City Council's Urban Planning Delegation.
During the visit, Jorge Ramos reiterated that the Free Zone "has come to stay in Jerez", and that the actions that are currently being carried out within the framework of the collaboration agreements maintained with the City Council "will constitute a first phase, and that then we will continue doing other projects in Jerez. It is very easy to reach an agreement with this City Council because we know how to perfectly combine the efforts and interests of both administrations, he noted."
During the visit, Jorge Ramos underlined the importance of this project “which is clearly showing that it is possible to transform important urban spaces in the city that have rich architectural value.”
In this sense, he pointed out that two of the actions included in the project, the redevelopment of Puerto Street and the rehabilitation of the annex building "are already a reality. The annex building is already finished in the absence of cleaning work, and we hope that in eight or ten days it can be ready."
To facilitate communications between the different buildings, an interior plaza with concrete paving has been created in which benches, flower pots with trees and corresponding lighting have been installed.
Regarding the rehabilitation works of the main cloister, Jorge Ramos explained that they are progressing at the planned pace and that the forecast is for them to be completed this summer.
The mayor thanked Ramos for “his commitment to Jerez and thanked the Consortium for the fact that the works are progressing at the pace planned in the project.” He also thanked Jorge Ramos "for the fact that the consortium has left Cádiz and that it has an important foothold in other cities and also in Jerez, so the wealth potential that the Consortium has not only remains in the capital, but also benefits other cities in the province."
Jorge Ramos also referred to other actions in which the Zona Franca and City Council are working together; In relation to Plaza Esteve, he indicated that “once the action in San Agustín is completed, the Esteve project will be addressed, as planned.”
Likewise, Jorge Ramos explained that "a lot of progress continues in other projects of great strategic value from the point of view of development and job creation, such as the authorization in the Transport City of a large free warehouse in Jerez, and in parallel we also continue to make progress to locate what will be the large tax and customs facility of the Free Trade Zone in Jerez on the land of Dehesa de Siles."
Likewise, he made reference to the rehabilitation works of El Polígono de El Portal, which has just awarded the Free Trade Zone to the UTE OHL, OBRASCON HUARTE LAIN-UCOP S.A.U for an amount of 2,857,338.74 euros. "In the next few days, the rethinking report will be drawn up and the works will begin that will allow the rehabilitation of an industrial estate that was very deteriorated and we will be able to put it at the service of entrepreneurs to boost economic activity in the city."