The Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) made official the authorization of the Zapala Free Trade Zone in April. Today The consortium that manages it began by signing contracts with ten companies that will settle there. It is the largest free zone in the country, with 250 hectares. Companies with operations in Vaca Muerta have already expressed interest and are holding meetings with the authorities to settle.
The free zone in the province is a project with more than two decades of history. It refers to an extra-customs space within Neuquén, which offers national, provincial and municipal tax exemptions aimed at promoting international trade and industrial activity in the region.
«The formal opening of the free zone allowed to begin closing contracts. The ones we had before, called letters of intent, were not binding, so now we can give them concrete form,” celebrated the CEO of the Zona Franca Zapala concessionaire, Fernando Montero in dialogue with Energía On.
The officialization of the contracts was signed with about 10 companies. From the concessionaire they make the commercial agreement and must have the approval of the Surveillance Committee. “All companies that enter must have documentation that supports them and that allows them to register as users of the Free Zone also from a customs point of view,” he indicated.
The contract and documentation is sent to the committee, composed of the Government of Neuquén and the Municipality of Zapala, to be reviewed. In total, there are about 200 interested companies: «Every day we have three virtual meetings to answer each question and explain in detail«he commented.
The companies with which you maintain the most contact They are dedicated to the import of tools and parts for oil and gas, oil servicespower generation, technology, logistics, mining and frozen foods.
«There are companies linked to and working in Vaca Muerta who have shown interest in settling. Also companies linked to the importation of equipment from other countries to use in training,” highlighted the Secretary of Production and Industry and president of the Adeneu SME Center, Juan Peláez, in dialogue with this medium.
«The Zapala Free Zone has many benefits. Among them, They do not pay import-export duty when they have the equipment there; “They can process raw materials or add value from warehouses,” he said.
Montero also highlights the possibility of arriving by different means: the closest ports are in Concepción, Chile and in Buenos Aires and Río Negro. “We are one day’s truck ride away from each other,” he noted. By air, There is the Zapala airport, where merchandise that needs cold can arrive. By land, it is located on Route 40 with a connection to Route 17 that reaches Añelo, the heart of Vaca Muerta, in an hour and a half.
«As we progress, opportunities arise. In terms of physical space, we do not compete with any free zone in the country. We are the largest, with 250 hectares,” he commented. “The free zone has a very good present and a promising future,” she concluded.
The implementation of the free zone “allows the development of a more neglected region of the province, leveraging the growth of Vaca Muerta. Training must serve to diversify the productive matrix of Neuquén so that other regions of the province develop in a more balanced way,” said Peláez.
Free Zone in Neuquén: a British firm will install and mine cryptocurrencies with Vaca Muerta gas
The British company IMF Minecraft Mining LDT has already signed the contracts with the Zapala Free Trade Zone concessionaire to install a Data Center and mine bitcoins. With an investment of about 28 million dollars, it will generate connections for transport gas from Vaca Muerta and supply energy to the project.
The company had signed a letter of intent to locate in the area, so they closed the contract. «He occupied a whole row of lots. There are seven in total of 1,500 meters each,” commented Montero. They estimate that the new cryptocurrency mining farm would have the capacity generate 10 bitcoins per day.
«If they did not have guarantees that the free zone was going to open, Even though we have been granted the concession, there were no ways to come to fruition.. Now we are signing the contracts to do the work necessary for the Vaca Muerta gas to arrive. A first part of the investment is approximately 8 million dollars and the second stage is around 20 million, destined for infrastructure,” he explained.
In the free zone they must install a energy infrastructure for 30,000 Asics, the device used to mine bitcoin. In an official statement from the company, they estimate that the property would use 1000 MW of energy, so they are advancing the system to purchase and transform Vaca Muerta gas into electrical energy.
