The Xunta de Galicia, Abanca, Reganosa and the directors of of the current driving projects promoters, give the keys to why the public-private partnership is a unique tool in Spain.

The main hall of the Casa de Galicia was too small for those who wished to attend the presentation of the company Impulsa Galicia in the Spanish capital. In it, entrepreneurs and investors had the opportunity to learn the value of this tool for the development of driving projects from the experience of all parties involved. Speakers included the president of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda; the First from the experience of all parties involved Vice-President of the Xunta de Galicia and President of Impulsa Galicia, Francisco Conde; the Chairman of Abanca, Juan Carlos Escotet; the General Manager of Reganosa and member of the Impulsa Galicia technical committee, Emilio Bruquetas; the General Manager of Capital Markets, Institutional Management and Distribution of Abanca and member of the technical committee of Impulsa Galicia, Juan Luis Vargas-Zúñiga; the CEO of Altri Group, José Pina; the Director of New Businesses of Naturgy, Silvia Sanjoaquín; the Director of Renewable Fuels of Repsol, Berta Cabello; the CEO of Ingenostrum, Santiago Rodriguez and the General Director of Impulsa Galicia, Enyd López.

In his speech, the Chairman of Abanca, Juan Carlos Escotet, stressed that Impulsa Galicia has a characteristic that makes it exceptional: “it aspires to project itself over time. It was created to influence, under sustainability criteria, the development of an economic structure that is increasingly more productive, more competitive and more inclusive”.

For his part, the Vice-President of the Xunta de Galicia and President of Impulsa, Francisco Conde, assured those present that in Galicia “there is a deep interest in attracting investment towards the objective that we have from the point of view of economic policy, which is to commit to an industrial agenda in the 2030 horizon (…) Impulsa is situated in this context. It aims to be the platform for business initiatives that are the driving force behind this industrial agenda”.

Emilio Bruquetas and Juan Luis Vargas-Zúñiga, as members of the technical committee, briefly explained the origins of Impulsa and the nature of the projects underway. Both emphasised the circularity of the projects, not only because they are sustainable, but also because they are projects that will generate other projects, expanding into other sectors and attracting investment and talent from outside.

Investment such as that being made by the Portuguese company Altri in this initial phase of the start-up of a pioneering industrial complex for the production of textile fibres from certified Galician wood. José Pina, CEO of Altri, stated that one of the reasons for deciding to invest in this project was the support of the Administration through Impulsa Galicia.

In the same line, Berta Cabello of Repsol and Silvia Sanjoaquín of Naturgy, the companies promoting, together with Reganosa, the project to generate biogas and fertilisers from surplus livestock manure, stressed the importance of collaboration between the Administration and companies. In a project “unique for providing a solution for the whole territory” and within the framework of decarbonisation, they highlighted the great importance of collaboration between the Administration and companies. This was also confirmed by Santiago Rodríguez, CEO of Ingenostrum, the company that will lead the construction of a large data centre that will facilitate the digitisation of the business and institutional fabric of Galicia and make data storage and processing cheaper.

Finally, and to close the day, the President of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, encouraged those present to invest in Galicia and in its driving projects, because the current projects “have come to be a reality and although we are at the beginning of the road, this will open the doors to many other projects that we want to do in Galicia (…) Entrepreneurship in Galicia is worthwhile,” he said.