The confidence that the private initiative has in Yucatan is demonstrated by the arrival of new investment projects, such as the construction of the Holcim cement grinding plant,with an investment of more than 40 million US dollars, and that will generate of 400 direct and indirect jobs.
The Governor, accompanied by the Regional Director of LafargeHolcim Latin America, Oliver Osswald, led the breaking ground ceremony of this factory that will expand the state’s competitiveness and improve the supply of cement in the peninsula.
In this regard, the director of Holcim Mexico, Jaime Hill Tinoco, said: “thanks to the great management work of Governor Vila Dosal, Yucatan’s economy is expected to continue growing above the country’s average, which is why the state was chosen to be the strategic ally in our project of socioeconomic and sustainable development for Mexico”.
Governor Vila Dosal indicated that Yucatan is experiencing a very important moment, since it has positioned itself as the third state in economic growth, with 3.1%, that is, 8 times higher than the country’s average, which is 0.4%. In addition, so far this year, 32% more jobs have been generated (while minus 39% is the country’s average). And during the second quarter of 2019, Yucatan ranked third in the national unemployment rate with 1.8%, lower than the national average of 3.5%
Vila Dosal said that to continue along this path, the state is giving greater importance to the issues of safety, energy and regulatory improvement, axes of action that have allowed great achievements, such as the investment certainty of 40 billion pesos generated in the last 12 months, with the commitment of local, national and international companies, which will create more than 30 thousand new jobs; as well as a foreign investment in the first quarter of 2019 higher than that generated throughout the whole year in 2018.
In terms of security, the Governor said that he is betting on strengthening human capital, but also infrastructure, which has placed the state among the safest in the country, as well as its capital and surrounding areas as the safest city in the entire American continent, just below Quebec, Canada; and with better safety rates than European cities like Oslo, Stockholm and Geneva.
Vila Dosal added that the State Congress approved an investment of 2,600 million pesos in new technologies to shield the state, so that it would go from 2,100 to 5,700 security cameras and from 100 to 219 license plate reader arch devices. Besides, the state government is planning to acquire 4 boats to patrol the coast and a stealth plane, among other things.
“We understand the situation that the country is going through and in this way we are getting ahead and reinforcing our security so situations that are unfortunately going on in other Mexican states, never happen in Yucatán,” said the Governor.
This new cement plant will have a production capacity of 650,000 tons per year. It will allow that, instead of sending cement from the Holcim plants in Macuspana, Tabasco, and Orizaba, Veracruz, the product can be transported to be transformed in Uman, which implies a huge benefit in terms of logistics, and allows the creation of new jobs in Yucatan.
Once in operation, this factory will generate 400 direct and indirect jobs, including labor, raw materials, services and transportation. It is designed to become one of the most modern and efficient facilities in the country, with a solid approach to sustainability, as it will be built with the latest technology, which implies the most efficient energy use and the most advanced features in environmental sustainability.
It will be located in the industrial area of Umán next to the Holcim México Distribution Center, a strategic location because it is only 30 minutes from the state capital and 15 minutes away from the Merida International Airport.
The plant is expected to start operating in the last quarter of 2020.
The Yucatan Times Newsroom
