Within the framework of the first session of the year of the Valparaíso Port City Coordination Council, held at the facilities of the Valparaíso Port Company, the 2024 work plan was announced within the commissions and significant progress on the commitments was presented. of the Agreement for Valparaíso regarding works for the city, such as the tender for the development of the Coastal Zone Strategic Plan.
On this occasion, the Council was chaired by Francisco Romero, head of the Infrastructure and Transportation division of the Regional Government, replacing the regional governor Rodrigo Mundaca; the executive secretary of the Council and general manager of Puerto Valparaíso, Franco Gandolfo; the mayor of Valparaíso, Jorge Sharp; the Seremi of Transportation of Valparaíso, Edgardo Pique; and the general manager of EFE Valparaíso, Miguel Saavedra.
Francisco Romero from the Regional Government commented that “the first sessions are always very important, because in some way they set the agenda and define a direction for the year. In the case of the Coordination Councils, the work that will be carried out this year is essential, especially if it comes from a framework that is as relevant as the Valparaíso Agreement. We must remember that in 2022 we will open the space of this Council to social, community and territorial actors and in 2023 we will participate in a tremendously relevant Agreement for Valparaíso that today marks a horizon of work also with other port cities.”
Likewise, for the general manager of Empresa Portuaria Valparaíso, Franco Gandolfo, the first session of the Council fulfilled the presentation of the 2024 work program, “which will be focused precisely on responding to the commitments that we have assumed as part of the Agreement for Valparaíso, where one of them is to work on the Strategic Plan for the Coastal Zone. This is an ongoing tender that we hope will be awarded during the month of May to begin work in the month of June and each of the Council’s work commissions, plus all the actors in the city, will have the possibility of participating, contributing from their visions regarding the development of this Plan”, adding that “it has been a very interesting session where there were also many queries, comments and suggestions. We believe that it is very relevant that more people are encouraged to participate in this event that is so important to contribute to the development of our city and our region.”
Jorge Sharp, mayor of Valparaíso, stated that “we realized the progress of the Agreement for Valparaíso six months after its signing, these are varied both in terms of port spaces, cruise ship docks and works linked to the coastline and we are happy With the progress it has made, we want the Ciudad Puerto Council to be aware of all the progress and the most important thing is that today Valparaíso has a roadmap for its development,” adding that “we are moving forward step by step, the transformations In a city like Valparaíso, which has been abandoned for so many years due to bad public policies, due to centralism, due to bad projects, it is coming to an end and that is a process and I am very happy that we are developing this process together. to the Port Company.”
News
Another relevant point in the table was the beginning of the work of the Transportation Commission, which will be led by Seremi Edgardo Pique, and joins the others that have already been working for two years, which are the Economic Development Commission, chaired by the Regional Government; the Ciudad Puerto Integration Commission, led by the Seremi de Minvu; and the Heritage Commission, headed by the Municipal Corporation for the Administration of the World Heritage Site, of the Municipality of Valparaíso.
“We are going to address some issues that are inherent to the operation of the port but that impact our cities and particularly in Valparaíso,” said Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Edgardo Piqué, adding that it is necessary “to see how we are capable of making an intra-city logistical improvement.” , thinking about how cities can improve mobility with the phenomenon of transportation that flows to and from ports. We are very excited and hope that the commission will be participatory. “We saw interest, and therefore, we invited everyone to join.”
At the meeting, the incorporation of Corfo Valparaíso was also announced, headed by its regional director, Etienne Choupay, who stated that “we are very happy to join the Ciudad Puerto Coordination Council and to build from our programs that go in the direction of the productive development of the Valparaíso region, in terms of productive promotion, innovation and entrepreneurship and that is why we specifically join the Economic Development Commission where we hope to build more contextually with our programs and particularly from the public-private alliance that “address the logistics issue as one of the main economic sectors of the region.”
Regional boost
For the director of tourism, Sernatur Valparaíso Region, Marcelo Vidal, the planning presented predicts good annual work. “The Agreement for Valparaíso is great news and we must quickly take it to concrete actions so that citizens see that all the work and announcements are coming together quickly. We are talking about a two-year horizon and that is why we must work together to “that we can have excellent news for Valparaíso and for the world of tourism.”
Likewise, Javier Torrejón, president of the Regional Chamber of Commerce, stated that “as a Chamber, what we most hope for is the boost in commerce, the visit of investors to the area, tourism and people who come to consume in order to reverse these years. in which the region has been affected economically and also with that having more work, today we have the highest unemployment rate in the country, also informal work, therefore all these developments, both commercial, tourism and investment and “Construction will bring a lot of labor to improve the region.”
Finally, it is worth noting that the website of the Ciudad Puerto Coordination Council was officially launched, which is now available to be able to directly inform yourself of all the progress of this entity (https://cccpvalpo.cl).
