After visiting the Cádiz Consortium and its Incubazul and Blue Core projects yesterday, the members of the University of Magdalena, the Santa Marta Chamber of Commerce and the Tayrona Free Zone have toured different entities and companies that are part of the Blue Economy ecosystem
The representatives of the Colombian organizations, whose objective is to learn about the Cádiz Free Trade Zone model to replicate it on the other side of the Atlantic, have been accompanied by the State delegate, Fran González
The delegation from the Colombian town of Santa Marta, made up of officials from the University of Magdalena, the Tayrona Free Zone and the Santa Marta Chamber of Commerce, continued today its visit to the province of Cádiz to learn about the Blue Economy, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem of the Free Zone and have met entities and companies that are part of it such as CTAQUA, Navantia San Fernando and Salina Santa Teresa in Chiclana.
The State delegate in the Cádiz Consortium, Fran González, is accompanying them during their stay in Cádiz and yesterday they learned first-hand about the tax facility, its activity and the recycled maritime container building Zona Base Incubazul, which houses the Blue Economy incubator, and the new Blue Core project.
The objective of the Colombian delegation of its visit is to learn “in situ” the Blue Economy ecosystem of the Cádiz Free Zone, to use it as a model and reference and replicate it on the other side of the Atlantic, exporting the model implemented by the Cádiz Consortium to that country.
The tour taken today by the different entities and companies expands knowledge about the ecosystem. The first stop of the day was at CTAQUA, the Andalusian Aquaculture Technology Center with more than 16 years of experience, where they were able to see their work around innovation in the aquaculture and seafood sectors.
CTAQUA is an ally of the Free Trade Zone and is part of its ecosystem and in 2025 both organizations signed an action protocol through which they work together to promote innovative initiatives linked to the Blue Economy, coordinating, advising and monitoring the actions.
Zona Franca also maintains a close relationship with Navantia, another of the companies that the Colombian delegation visited today. The shipbuilding company even plans to install an innovation space in the Zona Base Incubazul building after the signing of the action protocol signed last December, thus actively joining the ecosystem of the Cádiz Consortium.
In Navantia, the delegation has been able to verify the activity of this public company that is a benchmark in military and civil naval construction and whose activity is expanded to other strategic sectors such as offshore wind energy and the development of sustainable solutions based on green hydrogen.
The members of the Santa Marta delegation have also visited the Santa Teresa Salt Flat in Chiclana, where they have been able to learn about the traditional salt extraction process, the biodiversity of the marsh and the historical role of the salt flats in the local economy. They have taken a tour of the salt mine and have received explanations about these ancient wetlands and natural marshes transformed by humans to extract sea salt.
The Colombian delegation will continue its visit to City Hall this afternoon and tomorrow will dedicate the day to the University of Cádiz, where work meetings and a visit to INMAR, the University Institute of Marine Research of the UCA, are planned.
The State delegate, Fran González, has highlighted "the importance of those responsible for Colombian entities knowing first-hand and in detail the organizations and companies that are part of our ecosystem, thus also reinforcing the close relationship that we already maintain with them. The link with the Chamber of Commerce of Santa Marta, with the Tayrona Free Trade Zone and with the University of Magdalena has great value for us, much more taking into account the work that this university is doing in the field of the Blue Economy and everything what it can contribute to our ecosystem and to begin replicating the Cádiz model on the other side of the Atlantic, a similar ecosystem with connections on both sides of the ocean and with the common objective of working for the development of the territories with a committed, sustainable and innovative vision.”
Fran González added that "it is important that, in addition to the entities and companies around the Blue Economy ecosystem that the delegation is getting to know during its visit to Cádiz, they also have a reference within the framework of the institutional collaboration that we have always supported from the Free Trade Zone", highlighting the value of their visit to the Cádiz City Council.
This visit strengthens the link created and initiated with the assistance of the Free Zone with the help of the University of Cádiz to Innovazul Caribe 2024, when the Cádiz Consortium already presented itself as a catalyst of opportunities and creator of a new innovative and highly technological economic model, an engine to attract and retain talent.
During 'Innovazul Caribe 2024', the priority around a Blue Economy strategy in Andalusia, Spain, Europe and Latin America was also put on the table and on the agenda of public and private actors on both sides of the Atlantic. An agenda that brought together universities, technology incubators, research centers, companies and professionals related to the Blue Economy around the same space, allowing the connection of activities between several oceans, the Pacific and Atlantic, and seas such as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.