The proposal to implement an Agricultural Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Ñuble, which has been raised by the productive unions of the region, continues to gain support, this time, from Senator Gustavo Sanhueza, after meeting with the presidents of the Chilean Chamber of Construction-Chillán (CChC), Ricardo Salman; from the Ñuble Farmers Association, Carlos González; and from the Chillán Chamber of Commerce, Alejandro Lama; and with the director of Economic and Productive Development of the Municipality of Chillán (Didepro), Renato Segura.
The parliamentarian’s support adds to that expressed a week ago by Senator Loreto Carvajal.
“It was a very positive meeting, to the extent that we can advance in concrete actions so that this Special Economic Zone, focused on the creation of value for small agriculture, allows us an effective development of Ñuble,” said the senator.
He added that, “the idea of articulating different public policies under the guise of a common vision of an agri-food powerhouse region is going in the right direction. And that means improving irrigation capacity, advancing better connectivity, attracting investments, promoting the creation and development of clusters, guiding educational offerings in areas where we have a comparative advantage, among other dimensions. The ZEE is a large business unit that allows us, from today, to focus efforts and avoid the dispersion of initiatives that ultimately do not respond to a common denominator.”
Along these lines, Renato Segura explained that the proposal “consists of presenting a common strategy (the civil world, the public world and the productive world) to use the Agricultural SEZ as a public management tool that introduces better regulations, policies and procedures. “administrative measures to stimulate the economic activity of our region.”
For his part, Ricardo Salman highlighted that “the implementation of a SEZ could bring great benefits to the region, covering both the agricultural and industrial, commercial and logistics sectors. “This instrument could play a crucial role in reducing regional disparities, by generating development poles that encourage and drive investments capable of adding value to our products.”
Steps to follow
Sanhueza stressed that “it is a long-term task, but that we must promote it with perseverance and concrete actions now, both from civil society and from the current authorities who are mandated to lead and articulate this excellent proposal.”
“We are going to support everything that is necessary, from the legislative point of view and through the different coordinations with the ministries to materialize this initiative. The agreement we reached at this meeting is to be able to have an initial proposal in 30 days, with concrete actions, that allow us to articulate political and financial efforts. It is very important to keep in mind that the Special Economic Zone must be an instrument that goes beyond the government of the day, with a strategic sense and that it is ultimately civil society that drives and shapes all initiatives.”
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