Today would be the second visit of President Gustavo Petro to the capital of Caldas, in the 21 months he has been in office. He comes from Pereira and it is announced that he will be at the Community Integration Center (CIC) in the San Sebastián neighborhood, in the Ciudadela del Norte Commune, to develop his Government strategy with the popular neighborhoods. These are meetings that began this month throughout the country to learn first-hand about the needs of its governed, which is greatly needed, especially for departments like this one in the Coffee Region, which have not had direct dialogue with the president. nor have they had support to promote regional development projects.
The consolidation of Aerocafé continues to be on the list of priorities for Manizales and Caldas. Not yet having an airport with other technical characteristics has greatly limited our competitiveness and economic boost. The hope is that the president will say yes to this initiative and allow it to take off with national support. An urgent call is made to the Government to accompany and help solve the problems of informal settlements in Manizales, which the Mayor’s Office inherited and could be resolved by building Priority Interest Housing. The Municipality can provide the land and the designs, the Nation would be in charge of contracting and executing the works.
It is also vital for this city that the national government maintains support for the resources processed with the KFW – German development bank – for the construction of the WWTP, in which the Municipality is committed to maintaining the public-private alliance model to execute this environmental initiative. The Mayor’s Office intends to invest in another key project, the renovation of the Plaza de Mercado Gallery, which, because it is expensive, is seeking private investments and trying to get the Government, perhaps through one of its investment lines, to join in and do so. part of this exercise.
A special request, Mr. President, is that the National Infrastructure Agency, which is in charge of the coffee highway concession project, choose the one that best suits Caldas, which has been marginalized from the execution of road works, has many routes without dual carriageway, although the majority of tolls in the current concession are located in this territory. The Government is also waiting for support to launch road infrastructure projects, which will be its focus of action. There are several municipalities affected in the four cardinal points of the department by serious problems on the roads, which at the same time are reducing their development possibilities.
The president’s presence today in Manizales will be essential for this region. Also to crystallize part of the announcements made by the Ministry of ICT, such as turning Caldas into a cybersecurity hub, using human and technological resources from Manizales and Villamaría. It would allow us to generate employment and bring us closer to the world. Caldas has not had much luck with the presidential announcements, historically there is a debt from the national government to this region. That is why we hope that now is the time for you to set your eyes on this territory and its inhabitants.
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