Pere Navarro praises the Consorci and the value of concerted action in attracting talent

Barcelona, 22 November 2018.- Today, the Delegate of the State in the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), Pere Navarro, praised the contribution made by this entity to progress in Catalan society and highlighted the concerted action by private and public role-players and political parties as the best way to reach agreements which attract talent and build consensus on how to deal with the challenges created by our new digitised society.

Navarro took part in a lunch/conference given today as part of the Fòrum Europa series organised by Nueva Economia, an event at which he reviewed the most important milestones throughout the 102 years of this public entity, which he described as “a factory of future opportunities” because of its productive, innovative nature.

CHALLENGES FOR THE CONSORCI IN 2019

He announced that by January of next year, the 3DFacory Incubator European High Technology Centre will be officially opened, which it will manage jointly with the Leitat Technological Foundation and the support of the Incyde Foundation and European ERDF funds. It will be constructed at the corporate headquarters of the CZFB in the Free Trade Zone.

The business tender to be announced by the Consorci this summer to be located at this centre has already led to over 30 applications by start-ups and companies interested in developing additive 3D printing projects, and the deadline has yet to elapse on 31^st December. About the DFactory technology hub for new Economy 4.0 technologies, which the entity is promoting in the industrial zone, Navarro explained that 17 million euros will be invested in it, and that the Consorci is seeking out business partners to work with it on the project.

Another milestone set on the entity’s agenda for year 2019 is the organization of a large international logistics summit including five congresses from 26^th to 28^th June in Barcelona, as part of the International Logistics Exhibition and the World Congress of Free Trade Zones, as well as the Third eDelivery e-commerce fair, the OEA Congress of the International Association of Authorised Economic Operators, and the congress held by ALACAT, the Association of Cargo Agents of Latin America.

“During this logistics summit, we want the city to come to life and shine like it does each year during the Mobile fair,” explained Navarro, as well as making it clear that his entity “is a permanent space for contact between the public and private sectors, where the spirit of consensus and agreement are kept alive, as it works to extend Barcelona’s international outreach.“

 “The Consorci is not very well-known, as it has never been the focus of public acknowledgement. While it is true that the CZFB’s scope of activity is economic, it has always tried to keep in sight the overall benefits of its activities for the city of Barcelona and for Catalonia and Spain in general. Ours is a flexible entity that has never ceased placing the focus on people, despite constantly broadening its scope of action,” he added.

The Consorci’s representative ensured that the entity has three key elements in its DNA: “our desire to keep one step ahead in the economic promotion of the metropolitan area of Barcelona, the social commitment we show constantly, and the spirit to carry out concerted action and combine efforts with governmental bodies and the public and private sectors.”