Presidents of employers’ unions Galicia, Asturias and Leon It joined forces with the Confederation of Spanish Business Enterprises (CEOE) in Madrid this Tuesday to demand that the government promote this incentive. Northwest Atlantic CorridorIt requires an investment of 7.9 billion euros to complete, but Could contribute 4.5 billion to GDP euro by 2040.
Business associations in northwestern Spain ‘present report’ at business meetingNorthwest Atlantic Corridor: The key to development in Spain‘, they demanded the development and completion of a project that they consider “critical” for the future of their region and that can be financed “largely” from European funds.
This was explained by the presidents of the employers’ associations (CEG, FADE and FELE) in Galicia, Asturias and Leon. Juan Manuel Vieites, María Calvo and Juan María VallejoThose who, in turn, regret not being on “equal terms” with the rest of Europe due to the lack of infrastructure, which they see as a “historic shortcoming”.
“Economic and regional harmony This is the basis For businessmen, this is a challenge for the country as a whole. The State must therefore guarantee the principle of solidarity as stated in our Magna Carta,” explained the president of the Galician employers’ association, which claims that the Atlantic Corridor is a future booster for the economies of Galicia, Asturia and Leon.
Vieites noted that the corridor’s impact “goes beyond the conduct of business” and will create an economic structure focused specifically on freight traffic. But he cautioned that infrastructures do not create wealth “on their own” even without them.There is no possible development“.
“The future of the Northwest depends on this project”
The president of the Asturian employers’ association expressed himself in the same sense and said that infrastructures “They are like organs” It is a part of the human body that you cannot live without but you have to decide where to go to get the most out of it.
According to him, the region has many potentials due to the importance of industry, transportation and logistics in its economy, and with the corridor, it will be possible to increase productivity and GDP will grow. and employment will be created in the medium term. “The future of the Northwest largely depends on this project,” Calvo said.
Vallejo factored into Leon’s problems of retaining a young population, declining GDP and destruction of jobs. The Atlantic Corridor is a ““dynamic element” The economy brings with it new investments and tourism.
Will contribute $4,000 million to PIG in 2040
Employers’ associations in the Northwest announced that with the construction of the Corridor, freight traffic in the Northwest could increase from 7 million tons to 20.4 million tons and 2 billion 750 million euros could be produced annually. With infrastructure by 2040 at full capacityIt could result in a €4.5 billion contribution to GDP and the creation of 23,900 jobs.
According to the data collected in the report, improving the railway connection will also affect the number of domestic and foreign tourists coming to the northwest, spending more than 8.3 billion euros annually. Enabling and sustaining the creation of up to 11,650 jobs per year.
The Atlantic Corridor opportunity, as they explained, will reduce competitive gaps This agreement will also promote the railway connection of Vigo Portugal and, in the future, the Basque Country with France, which currently has a connection with Spain only via Catalonia. It will also have an impact on the transportation of people and goods.
Garamendi: “There is also Radial Spain”
Antonio Garamendi, president of CEOE, also intervened and emphasized that 245,000 jobs have been lost in the region since 2008 and that the problem of population decline has deepened. They called for infrastructure to be provided to the north-west of Spain to solve some of these problems and for companies to internationalise.
“This is what guarantees that all business people have equal opportunities,” he said in a statement to the media, expressing his implicit support for this project. “Radial Spain also exists and the entire national territory have the right to the same infrastructure as others “They already have it,” he added.
He also predicted that the Northwest Atlantic Corridor would help industrialize the region and enable the secondary sector to grow until it reached 20% of each community’s GDP. Moreover, in the opinion of the president of the employer association, the corridor will be as follows: the “key” for transporting people and goods.