The Junta de Andalucía, through the Consejería de Industria, Energía y Minas, has launched the sales booklet of the Industrial Cities Network of Andalucía with detailed information on the competitive advantages offered by more than fifty municipalities that are part of it. This is a collaboration tool promoted by the Andalusian Government with the Andalusian municipalities to promote industrial activity and the creation of quality employment in the municipalities that are part of the Network, and to showcase those environments that are more favorable for hosting industrial investments in Andalucía.
This document gathers strategic information on the available land for the implementation of industrial projects, the tax incentives offered by each municipality, and their competitive advantages, with the aim of attracting industrial investments and promoting economic development in the region by providing potential investors with detailed information on the strengths and opportunities presented by Andalucía.
The sales booklet is «a fundamental tool for interested companies in establishing themselves in a specific territory to consult on the strengths and facilities that a municipality offers to potential investors,» explained the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines, Jorge Paradela.
This tool, which is one of the commitments made by the Andalusian Government to the municipalities that join the Network, offers a dossier that will allow all companies interested in establishing themselves in Andalucía to streamline decision-making, something that, in the words of Jorge Paradela, «will encourage different municipalities to differentiate themselves by showing in detail what their competitive advantages are, their support policies, and the resources they have in favor of the industry.»
Specifically, the document that can currently be consulted on the website of the Consejería de Industria, Energía y Minas and that will be updated periodically with information provided by the municipalities, contains detailed information on 56 localities that are part of the Industrial Cities Network of Andalucía. Thus, from Almería, there is information on eight municipalities (Albox, Benahadux, Gádor, Huércal de Almería, Huércal-Overa, Macael, Purchena, and Zurgena) out of the 18 adhered to the Network.
Mayors from across Andalucía pose with the Minister of Industry, Jorge Paradela, in a family photo before the II High-Level Meeting of the Industrial Cities Network of Andalucía, hosted in Linares.
In the province of Cádiz, data is provided for Bornos, Chiclana de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Jerez de la Frontera, and Ubrique, five of the nine Cadiz municipalities that are part of the Network.
Córdoba, the province with the highest number of municipalities adhered to the Network (34), offers information on 15 localities: Añora, Bujalance, Cabra, Encinas Reales, Espiel, La Rambla, Los Blázquez, Montilla, Montoro, Palma del Río, Pedro Abad, Puente Genil, Rute, San Sebastián de los Ballesteros, and Villa del Río.
In Granada, there are seven municipalities that belong to the Network, three of which have information in the sales booklet (Baza, Guadix, and Motril).
There are four municipalities in Huelva that are adhered, two of which provide information on their productive spaces, infrastructures, incentives, and support policies (Hinojos and Huelva).
In the province of Jaén, there are 17 localities that belong to the Network, of which 12 provide information in the joint sales booklet (Alcalá la Real, Alcaudete, Andújar, Baeza, Bailén, Frailes, Guarromán, La Carolina, Martos, Peal de Becerro, Siles, and Torredonjimeno).
In the case of Málaga, Antequera, one of the three municipalities in the province that are adhered, provides its information in the Network’s document.
Finally, 21 Seville municipalities are part of the Industrial Cities Network of Andalucía, of which the sales booklet contains information on a dozen of them (Bollullos de la Mitación, Carrión de los Céspedes, Écija, El Cuervo de Sevilla, Las Cabezas de San Juan, Lora del Río, Los Molares, Mairena del Alcor, Osuna, and Pilas).
The Industrial Cities Network, framed within the CRECE Industry Action Plan 2021-2022 for a new industrial policy in Andalucía, seeks to promote and encourage the creation and establishment of manufacturing companies and industrial services in Andalusian territory to generate growth opportunities and quality employment throughout the Andalusian geography.
It is an initiative promoted by the Consejería de Industria, Energía y Minas that is born with the vocation of identifying those Andalusian cities that are committed to industrial development and attracting industrial investments in the field of extractive industry, manufacturing industry, water management, waste and decontamination, and auxiliary services and support for industrial activities.
Currently, there are 113 Andalusian municipalities adhered to the Network. Since its inception, two high-level meetings of this initiative have been held. In the first one, the Córdoba Declaration was signed, an institutional manifesto that highlights their commitment to creating an institutional and social framework committed to industry and advancing towards an innovative, inclusive, and sustainable industry in Andalusian municipalities. In the second meeting, held in Linares, the Junta de Andalucía, through the Consejería de Industria, Energía y Minas, committed to certifying the fulfillment of the commitments made with the Andalusian municipalities that are part of the Industrial Cities Network of Andalucía, through the ‘AENOR Certified Commitments’ mark.
Image of the first High-Level Meeting of the municipalities of the Industrial Cities Network of Andalucía, held in Córdoba.
What does it mean to belong to the Industrial Cities Network of Andalucía?
Municipalities must offer bonuses and tax benefits for the development of industrial activities, declared of special interest or municipal utility due to circumstances of job creation, in the corresponding regulations on taxes on properties, constructions, installations and works, for opening establishments, developing economic activities, or for providing urban services or similar, aimed at industrial companies or self-employed individuals established or intending to establish themselves in the municipality. Similarly, these municipalities must aim to reduce the maximum processing times to authorize industrial projects and support investors on this path, as well as evaluate and monitor the status of the productive spaces within their jurisdiction.
On the other hand, the Junta will strengthen the positioning of the adhered municipalities, for which an interactive map locating the productive spaces and their infrastructures has been developed, where these cities are prominently displayed, as well as the available industrial land, and which is available on the website of the Andalusian Institute of Statistics and Cartography (IECA). Likewise, the Andalusian Government commits to supporting the external promotion of the municipalities of the Network, strengthening coordination with specialized units in investment attraction, and thus facilitating access to the potential interest of investors in locating in Andalucía.
Efforts will be made to involve the Network’s councils in the development of measures outlined in the CRECE Industry value chain plans to strengthen industrial ecosystems in municipalities. And in terms of training, actions will be promoted to continue advancing in the connection of educational offerings and training needs linked to industrial challenges in municipalities.
Furthermore, the Consejería de Industria will continue to promote a network of specialized municipal technicians in the development of local productive systems through which work synergies are generated and resources, knowledge, tools, best practices, and the application of public-private collaboration models are shared, among other actions, in order to gain closeness with the industrial sector and its needs.
