The Generalitat will allocate 6.8 billion euros to rebuild industrial warehouses and recover industrial estates

There is much work to be done to get the industry in the Comunitat back up and running. The Ministry of Industry estimated that around 10 billion euros in damages have been suffered by industrial sectors due to floods and torrents. It was this Friday when the Consell presented its recovery plan to the Valencian Business Confederation (CEV) and other sector representatives.

This plan, which will consist of two phases, considers that aid worth at least 6.8 billion euros will be necessary for business parks and industrial estates affected by the DANA. Of this amount, around 4.8 billion euros will be allocated to the reconstruction of damaged warehouses, while the other 2 billion euros will go to the recovery of common areas.

In this first evaluation by the Generalitat, Industry estimates that the storm has affected 123 Valencian industrial areas covering 42 million square meters in the regions of Horta Sud, Ribera Alta, Ribera Baixa, Hoya de Buñol, Camp de Túria, Plana de Utiel-Requena, and Valencia.

In fact, in many areas, access problems to these devastated areas, where cars are piled up and trucks are destroyed, remain more than present. Therefore, the calculation of damages suffered has not been precisely calculated.

The two phases of the plan will be implemented in an orderly and coordinated manner to allow the efficient recovery of industrial estates and business parks and minimize the economic and social repercussions resulting from the catastrophe.

The first phase, named 'Reconstruction', aims to ensure minimum operating and safety conditions in the estates to allow access with guarantees and thus begin the rehabilitation of basic services.

Efforts will be made to restore all water, electricity, and telecommunications supplies, clean and repair access roads, collect and remove accumulated hazardous waste, inspect and secure the structures of the warehouses, and develop a temporary mobility plan that ensures safe access and exit routes for services.

The second phase will be 'Recovery', focused on economic and operational aid. The Minister of Industry, Nuria Montes, explained that companies will be supported to "resume their activities with institutional support and simplified access to resources".

In this case, five lines of action have been planned, including the creation of proximity agents, who will be located in each affected estate to coordinate the immediate needs of companies, or the extension of deadlines for current subsidies, with the aim of being executed in 2025.

Additionally, the Generalitat contemplates the "reformulation of the purpose of some public aid to allow these resources allocated by the Administration to be used for damage repair instead of other projects". Similarly, the plan includes the implementation of a one-stop shop to centralize and simplify procedures and the establishment of economic aid to companies that have suffered losses due to the DANA.

At the meeting, where the magnitude of the damages and the exceptional measures to be adopted to ensure the swiftest recovery of the affected industry and tertiary sector were detailed, more than 120 people attended telematically, including representatives of the CEV and the productive sectors of the Valencian Community.