Jorge Ramos emphasizes that Zona Franca “is paying off the debt it had with Jerez” with the realization of this and other projects
The delegate of the Free Zone advances that after Easter the redevelopment of the El Portal Industrial Estate begins
The total investment in the project, which has included the redevelopment of Puerto Street, amounts to almost six million euros, co-financed by funds requested in the Feder Operational Framework for Andalusia 2007-2013
The mayor highlights the role of entrepreneurs in Jerez and thanks Zona Franca “for its commitment to the city.””
The mayor, María José García-Pelayo, and the Special State Delegate of the Free Trade Zone Consortium, Jorge Ramos, inaugurated today the 'Caballerizas Building’ of the San Agustín Business Center, which houses part of the offices of the future business complex, which will be completely completed in summer, when the rehabilitation works of the main cloister are expected to be completed.
The project, which has a global investment of close to 6 million euros, is the result of an agreement signed in September 2012 between the City Council and Zona Franca for the rehabilitation of the old convent of San Agustín, a property that has also had military use, and which in the 90s was acquired by the City Council, without any rehabilitation action being carried out to date on the main cloister, which was in a dilapidated state.
Likewise, Jorge Ramos has announced that days after Holy Week, the redevelopment work on the El Portal Industrial Estate will begin, one of the projects that the Free Trade Zone is developing in the city, along with the "creation of a free warehouse in the Transport City and the remodeling of Plaza Esteve, which will revitalize the historic center by modifying the appearance of the city." Another project is the location on the land of Dehesa de Siles of a tax and customs facility for the Free Trade Zone in Jerez.
As Jorge Ramos has explained, the inauguration of the Las Caballerizas Building represents the immediate enhancement of a part of the San Agustín Business Center, which in total will have an approximate constructed area of 4,500 square meters, in which 49 offices with surfaces between 15 and 60 square meters will be distributed. The complex will also have multiple-use and shared meeting rooms with spaces intended to support entrepreneurs and companies that set up shop.
At the moment, and until the works on the main cloister are completed, the 13 offices of the Las Caballerizas Building are now available, which has a constructed area of 962.15 square meters and three floors high.
In addition to the rehabilitation of the two buildings for the Business Center, the access to Jerez through Puerto Street has been redeveloped, significantly improving its current image and its communications with the new Center.
As the mayor has pointed out, today is an important day because a part of the future Business Center "is already a reality, and therefore we fulfill a commitment that we had with the city, and in a very special way, with our entrepreneurs, self-employed workers and businessmen, with whom we have been committed from the first moment, since they are the ones who create jobs and therefore, we must give them all our support."
The use of this emblematic building was not chosen at random, as María José García-Pelayo has pointed out, but from the City Council and Zona Franca "we were clear from the first moment that we had to give appropriate use to this property, which has been abandoned for so many years, and recover it to turn it into a reference business center in Jerez and the province, and to support entrepreneurs, who today are the ones that generate employment and wealth."
In this sense, the mayor has once again thanked Jorge Ramos for his commitment and commitment to Jerez, recalling that "the Free Trade Zone has been by our side in the moments when the city has needed it most, and when it was necessary to join forces between the administrations to move the city forward and offer help to entrepreneurs who, even in times of uncertainty, have worked with courage and tenacity."
Before touring the building, the mayor recalled that this Business Center represents “a sign of our firm commitment to economic growth and employment, and that it will not be the only business center that the city has, referring to the agreement signed with the Chamber of Commerce of Jerez and the Incyde Foundation, for the construction of an incubator for companies linked to motor technology next to the Circuit.
In relation to this joint effort that is being developed with the administrations to support entrepreneurs, the mayor has indicated that, although it is bearing fruit, as shown by data such as the 5% growth experienced by self-employed entrepreneurs in Jerez during 2014, "there is still much to do and, therefore, we are going to continue working in the same line of collaboration and support for those who create jobs in our city."
To this end, he recalled, we are working hand in hand with the Free Zone on other large projects also aimed at creating wealth and employment, such as the creation of a free warehouse on the land of the City of Transport, which would be the expansion of the Free Zone in Jerez or the location on the land of Dehesa de Siles of a tax and customs facility of the Free Zone in Jerez.
Likewise, he has also highlighted that, as a result of the support of the Free Trade Zone to our city, the rehabilitation works of the El Portal Industrial Estate will soon begin, a project long demanded by our businessmen and that is also already a reality.