The municipalities located within a radius of 30 kilometers from the capital await a shower of projects
Certest, Amazon Web Services, Becton Dickinson and BonÁrea are the first firms to make the most of Aragonese attractive assets
The ring that surrounds Zaragoza has become in recent years a magnet for business investment. Zuera, Villanueva de Gállego, San Mateo de Gállego, La Muela, El Burgo de Ebro, Épila, La Cartuja and Pedrola are part of the list of municipalities that surround the Aragonese capital and that will be the focus of a shower of projects that will boost the corridors and regions in which they are located. Some of these initiatives may have not seen the light yet, but the Government of Aragon has rushed to enable industrial land at the request of numerous companies.
Among these investments, we find:
- The Aragonese biotechnology company CerTest plans to disburse 100 million euros to light, among other projects, a factory for vaccines against COVID-19.
- The giant Amazon finalizes the start-up of its three data centers (El Burgo, Huesca and Villanueva) with an investment of around 2,500 million euros.
- Becton Dickinson recently announced an investment of 200 million euros and the creation of 600 jobs at the Empresarium of La Cartuja.
- BonÁrea works are advancing at a good pace in a project that will generate 4,000 jobs in Épila.
But these projects are only the spearhead of many others that will arrive and serve as a driving force for attracting more companies. This diversified productive fabric will include the following sectors: logistics, automobile, renewable energies, new technologies, agri-food and biotechnology.
In order to make it happen, industrial land is needed in that golden ring. Therefore, the Governing Council approved land to build a logistics-industrial estate of 1.5 million square meters in Zuera in which 28 million euros will be invested over the next three years. In addition, the Government of Aragon and Sareb recently signed an agreement so that the grounds of the Recycling Technology Park (PTR) in Zaragoza, a total of 175 hectares, can house companies that are not just recycling.
Attractive Assets
There are several reasons why companies want to locate their facilities within this ring. Large firms are looking for administrative agility, adjusted land and logistics costs, good communications – all municipalities are located in corridors -, proximity to the airport or the railway and economic aid. Alongside these assets, they value stability and its proximity to Zaragoza guarantees qualified labor for these projects.
“Our concern is to be able to respond to the lively and growing demand of investors, but with Malpica, the PTR, the extension of Plaza and the Zuera industrial estate, a good supply is guaranteed, and sufficient in the medium term, in real estate logistics”, affirmed the Executive. In this sense, they add that “the generation of employment is guaranteed in good numbers.”
The Government of Aragon trusts that the implementation of projects will improve communications, boost growth in population, promote residential areas and, ultimately, provide employment and wealth to their neighbors.
