Article of Opinion by Mario Martínez Sobre – President of The Chamber of Commerce
For years, the Orihuela Chamber of Commerce has championed the creation of a Business Park, which we see as crucial for the municipality’s future. Since 2016, we’ve promoted this project as the cornerstone of our city’s economic recovery. We’re thrilled that the Corporation has revived this initiative and is working to make it a reality. We believe the Business Park is vital for Orihuela’s economic, social, and cultural growth.
Recent history shows that progress requires planning and commitment, not inertia. Orihuela can’t afford to miss opportunities in a globalized and competitive world. European funds are available for those with a vision for the future, and we must seize this chance. The Business Park we envision is more than just a physical space; it represents a commitment to employment, modernization, and hope for future generations.
This Business Park, designed for the Agri-Food Industry and Renewable Energies, offers a golden opportunity for Orihuela. It will create jobs, stimulate the local economy, attract investment, boost population growth, and drive new housing construction. The benefits will extend beyond business, enhancing commerce, hospitality, services, and culture.
The project will also ensure that our young people can find job opportunities locally, avoiding the need to go abroad. We want them to be educated in quality institutions like the one planned in El Palmeral and to secure a promising future in Orihuela. This goal complements improvements in education and investments in a public health system that will serve a growing and rejuvenated population.
Orihuela’s strategic location makes this project unique, with over two million square meters of land near the motorway and excellent connections to Alicante-Elche and Murcia airports and the AVE high-speed train station. This positions us as a hub for agri-food and renewable energy business activities, leveraging our land and climate’s natural resources.
The agri-food industry has always been vital to our local economy, and the Business Park will help it reach its full potential. The growing renewable energy sector represents a commitment to sustainability, innovation, and leadership in a forward-looking industry.
We acknowledge the enormity of this challenge, but we believe Orihuela can meet it. This project requires the support of all economic and social stakeholders: businesses, institutions, citizens, and local organizations. Only through collective effort can we make the Business Park a reality that benefits the entire community.
The Orihuela Chamber of Commerce remains committed to realizing this dream. We are convinced that the Business Park will kickstart economic recovery and transform Orihuela into an industrial, modern, and prosperous city. We cannot afford to fall behind in a rapidly changing world. The time to act is now.
Orihuela will become an industrial city, or it won’t.
