Its goal is to increase the number of jobs from 7.800 to 23.000, which will require an investment of $500 million. Mosquera and its surrounding area will benefit the most.
Amid growing electoral uncertainty, which has put several businesses on hold while the country's new government is being defined, the business owners of the Western Free Trade Zone, located in Mosquera, Cundinamarca, presented a plan to make an initial investment of 33.600 billion pesos over the next 10 years and another 500 million dollars between now and 2051. This helped them to get the Ministry of Commerce to extend their operating license.
Free trade zones are geographical areas where several companies establish themselves for the purpose of exporting products or services, in exchange for which they receive tax benefits. From time to time, the government reviews whether they are fulfilling their promises and, depending on the results, decides to extend the tax benefits for a longer period.
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In the case of the Western Free Trade Zone, which has been established for 11 years, there are 41 users and more than nine companies that provide them with services . They all committed to making investments to increase job creation, innovation, and technology. To this end, they submitted investment proposals to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
This Free Trade Zone employs 7.800 people directly and indirectly, and the goal is to reach 23.000 direct and 50.000 indirect jobs within 10 years. Rosa María Gamarra, general manager of this industrial park, also points out that they are deeply committed to generating job opportunities for the residents of the Bogotá savanna and to continuing to promote the development of Mosquera; it is no coincidence that this is one of the municipalities in the country with the lowest unemployment rates. They also anticipate the creation of a virtuous cycle in which industrial demand will lead to a more highly skilled workforce, which in turn will support industrial development and the growth of the skilled labor supply.
Trade allies
“We want to continue being an important hub for the country's and the region's economic development, in addition to promoting exports and generating employment and investment. This extension is a result of the trust, contribution, and responsibility of the entire team and the park's users. It's a decision that positions Colombia as a strategic ally in international trade and delivers a message of legal certainty to investors,” explains Gamarra.
“We want to continue being an important hub for the country's and the region's economic development, in addition to promoting exports and generating employment and investment. This extension is a result of the trust, contribution, and responsibility of the entire team and the park's users. It's a decision that positions Colombia as a strategic ally in international trade and delivers a message of legal certainty to investors,” explains Gamarra.
Another objective of the extension is to increase the number of users of this Free Trade Zone; in fact, they aspire to bring a data center to Mosquera by 2022, which would be the first. They also plan to develop a food cluster in the region to complement their current offerings, which include companies in the health, pharmaceutical, chemical, plastics, technology, and infrastructure sectors.
Good year
After the difficulties of 2020, this year has been very positive for the Western Free Trade Zone. As of November, customs operations grew by 71,15%, totaling 107.400.
Gamarra attributes this result to the team's work, which included assisting some users who were on the verge of bankruptcy in 2020, as well as to sound planning, which enabled them to overcome the obstacles created by the national strike and the so-called container crisis. On this front, they will seek to be an ally of the government in negotiations with shipping companies and ports, given that 80% of the goods and merchandise transported within and outside the country are carried out by sea.
In Colombia, there are 120 free trade zones in 22 departments, six of which have already obtained extensions to continue operating.
The manager of the Western Free Trade Zone asserts that the free trade zone regime, whose regulations were adjusted in March of this year, is the best option for the country's development, as it offers a competitive legal framework. She predicts that the zone will be able to repeat this year's growth rate in 2002.
Taken from: Semana Magazine