In the presence of business leaders, representatives of intermediary institutions, academics, and the productive sector, the presentation of the feasibility study conducted by the consulting firm Serman & Asociados was held, which analyzed the technical, environmental, regulatory, and economic viability of the project that includes the River Port, the Logistics Activities Zone, and the expansion of the Industrial Park.
This comprehensive analysis determined that the conditions are in place for the Municipality of Concordia to move forward with this project, to be carried out in stages to avoid significant investments from the beginning, establishing a roadmap for the development, not only of our city, but of the region.
The report formalized that the first step is the creation of a Logistics Activities Zone (ZAL) with the objective of consolidating the cargo of local producers efficiently. The next step would be the expansion of the Industrial Park, a sector that is already consolidated, and finally, the river barge port, the execution of which is strictly conditioned on reaching higher cargo volumes, strong investments, and improvements in the river's navigability.
It was highlighted that having a strategic logistics hub within the MERCOSUR corridor will attract capital and generate genuine employment. Technical certainties and a framework of predictability that private investors demand before establishing their companies in the area were mentioned. By lowering transport and storage costs, it improves the position of local production chains of citrus, blueberries, meat, and wood, among other products, in the international market.
“WE ARE FULFILLING THE STAGES”
Mayor Francisco Azcué first emphasized that “we are fulfilling the stages and this step was important. Now we must begin to work, together with all sectors, on the executive project to move forward with the first part, which is the Logistics Activities Zone,” a place that will concentrate cargo operations and will have fiscal warehouses, packing sheds, cold storage chambers, and a truck yard.
Azcué called on the private and productive sectors to join in and take ownership of the project: “what is coming requires work with institutions, with business leaders, with producers, with entrepreneurs because ultimately it is for them; they will be the main protagonists. This hub is part of our government platform that we put up for consideration in 2023, it is one of the most important projects that the Municipality has, and today we are taking a key step, fulfilling our commitment.”
COMPREHENSIVE VISION
For his part, the Minister of Economic Development of the Province, Guillermo Bernaudo, highlighted the support of the Government of Entre Ríos for the project “which represents a comprehensive vision of the productive development of Concordia, the region, and the province. There is great potential with a logistics hub in the littoral, transforming into an important component, even for other provinces such as Corrientes, Misiones, and Chaco. Often, administrations spend time talking about projects that never materialize, but here there is planning and it must be set in motion.”
REAL AND POSSIBLE INITIAL STEP
María Cecilia Norman, from the consulting firm Serman & Asociados, stressed that the Logistics Activities Zone allows, with a small-scale initial investment, “to be the articulator of the logistics hub and today offer a range of services to many small and medium-sized producers who do not have the possibility of moving their cargo, of incorporating themselves and being generators of that future cargo that can lead to the final stages. It is a possible, real initial step that allows us to think big and empower the region, which is ultimately the main support of this whole idea and this whole plan. Concordia as a gateway or exit point and the region as the hinterland or nearby productive area.”
Finally, the Secretary of Productive Development, Sebastián Arístide, considered that based on the viability of the project, “we, the people of Concordia, must start believing that this is possible. Think about the professionalization of the human resources that will surely be needed and from there, start consolidating each link in the chain. This is a pivotal plan for Concordia but it depends on all sectors.”
The project for the creation of the logistics hub is carried out through the Development and Integration Program of the Salto Grande Region and the Provincial Executing Unit before the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
This comprehensive analysis determined that the conditions are in place for the Municipality of Concordia to move forward with this project, to be carried out in stages to avoid significant investments from the beginning, establishing a roadmap for the development, not only of our city, but of the region.
The report formalized that the first step is the creation of a Logistics Activities Zone (ZAL) with the objective of consolidating the cargo of local producers efficiently. The next step would be the expansion of the Industrial Park, a sector that is already consolidated, and finally, the river barge port, the execution of which is strictly conditioned on reaching higher cargo volumes, strong investments, and improvements in the river's navigability.
It was highlighted that having a strategic logistics hub within the MERCOSUR corridor will attract capital and generate genuine employment. Technical certainties and a framework of predictability that private investors demand before establishing their companies in the area were mentioned. By lowering transport and storage costs, it improves the position of local production chains of citrus, blueberries, meat, and wood, among other products, in the international market.
“WE ARE FULFILLING THE STAGES”
Mayor Francisco Azcué first emphasized that “we are fulfilling the stages and this step was important. Now we must begin to work, together with all sectors, on the executive project to move forward with the first part, which is the Logistics Activities Zone,” a place that will concentrate cargo operations and will have fiscal warehouses, packing sheds, cold storage chambers, and a truck yard.
Azcué called on the private and productive sectors to join in and take ownership of the project: “what is coming requires work with institutions, with business leaders, with producers, with entrepreneurs because ultimately it is for them; they will be the main protagonists. This hub is part of our government platform that we put up for consideration in 2023, it is one of the most important projects that the Municipality has, and today we are taking a key step, fulfilling our commitment.”
COMPREHENSIVE VISION
For his part, the Minister of Economic Development of the Province, Guillermo Bernaudo, highlighted the support of the Government of Entre Ríos for the project “which represents a comprehensive vision of the productive development of Concordia, the region, and the province. There is great potential with a logistics hub in the littoral, transforming into an important component, even for other provinces such as Corrientes, Misiones, and Chaco. Often, administrations spend time talking about projects that never materialize, but here there is planning and it must be set in motion.”
REAL AND POSSIBLE INITIAL STEP
María Cecilia Norman, from the consulting firm Serman & Asociados, stressed that the Logistics Activities Zone allows, with a small-scale initial investment, “to be the articulator of the logistics hub and today offer a range of services to many small and medium-sized producers who do not have the possibility of moving their cargo, of incorporating themselves and being generators of that future cargo that can lead to the final stages. It is a possible, real initial step that allows us to think big and empower the region, which is ultimately the main support of this whole idea and this whole plan. Concordia as a gateway or exit point and the region as the hinterland or nearby productive area.”
Finally, the Secretary of Productive Development, Sebastián Arístide, considered that based on the viability of the project, “we, the people of Concordia, must start believing that this is possible. Think about the professionalization of the human resources that will surely be needed and from there, start consolidating each link in the chain. This is a pivotal plan for Concordia but it depends on all sectors.”
The project for the creation of the logistics hub is carried out through the Development and Integration Program of the Salto Grande Region and the Provincial Executing Unit before the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).