The action is part of the Comprehensive Modernization Plan that the Consortium is undertaking in a phased manner to create a more competitive enclave that offers better service to operators and attracts new investments.
The delegate, Fran González, highlights that "these works consolidate the integration of the perimeter that the tobacco factory occupied with the premises, offering a more attractive industrial and logistical land for the establishment of companies."
At the end of last December, the Cádiz Free Trade Zone completed the works to replace the fencing of the old Altadis tobacco complex, which has been part of the Comprehensive Plan for the Modernization of the Tax Precinct that the Consortium is undertaking in a phased manner to create a more competitive enclave that provide better service to current operators and be attractive to the arrival of new investors.
The work, which began last summer and lasted six months, consisted of renewing the entire fence from the area in front of the Ribera dock to the area in front of the Virgen del Rosario funeral home. A high security fence of about 800 linear meters has been installed on a new reinforced concrete wall. In the access area to the Fiscal Precinct through the Elcano marina, a continuous footing has also been provided at its base given its greater height.
The works have been carried out by the company Construcciones Francisco Manzano, S.L. for an amount of 263,055.65 euros (VAT not included), which brings to more than 1.8 million the global investment the Free Zone has already allocated to the Modernization Plan of the facility.
The replacement of the fence has been carried out due to the great deterioration of the existing fence due to the passage of time, the weather and the proximity to the sea, which had caused serious damage to the enclosure.
Along these lines, the Consortium delegate, Fran González, highlighted that this new action “consolidates the integration of the old Altadis complex with the Fiscal Precinct, one of the objectives of the Modernization Plan that we are undertaking, offering an industrial and logistical land -with important customs advantages to internationalization- more attractive for the arrival of new investments, also significantly improving the appearance of entering the city through the Carranza bridge."
González recalled that “the integration of the Altadis area with the rest of the complex already began in 2022 with the opening of a new access from the Fiscal Area in front of the port area, eliminating the unevenness that existed years ago, which made it difficult to entry and exit to this space and, therefore, achieving total permeability with the rest of the enclosure.”
“It should be noted that of the more than 1.8 million invested in the Modernization Plan, more than half has been allocated to the conditioning and integration of the old Altadis to the Tax Precinct with the aim of promoting its commercialization. In this sense, the new enclosure, in addition to meeting all the construction security requirements, has eliminated all the access doors that previously existed so that the enclosure meets the necessary requirements as a fiscal and customs enclosure, since access is carried out exclusively due to the controls of the State Security Forces,” González clarified.
Other improvements in the Tax Precinct
In addition to the aforementioned actions, the Comprehensive Modernization Plan launched by the Free Trade Zone has included numerous improvements in infrastructure and services from the parameters of functionality, sustainability and respect for the environment.
One of the latest actions has been the conditioning and improvement of the Civil Guard control booths in the Tax Precinct. Thus, last summer the works on the checkpoint at the main entrance on Algeciras Street were completed and in the coming weeks work on the control checkpoint at the access to the Elcano marina is scheduled to begin, which has extended its opening hours for the afternoon.
The work in both sentry boxes consists of the installation of visors for protection against wind, rain and sun, in addition to the replacement of windows, the creation of access to the toilet from the inside and the complete adaptation of this space with painting.
In addition, improvements have been made around sustainable mobility within the Tax Precinct, such as the opening of a bicycle lane, one of the most repeated complaints by users who work in the area; the start-up of an electric station; the renewal of all signage, as well as improvements in the hydraulic and electrical infrastructures – in which also, in the video surveillance system, the cleaning of equipment or the resurfacing of the main arteries of entry and exit to the premises, which required a renovation after years of exposure to heavy traffic.
Also, within the Improvement Plan, the cleaning of difficult-to-access areas and the painting of numerous equipment and signs have also been carried out, as well as the optimization of some spaces that have made it possible to generate new parking spaces.
With all these actions, the Cádiz Free Trade Zone continues to take firm steps towards the implementation of a self-sufficient industrial and logistics zone committed to the future of the city. The objective is to consolidate quality infrastructures that increase the competitiveness of operators and the business fabric and multiply the potential of the venue as a first-class logistics space.
