The commemorative act for the anniversary brings together about 300 attendees and has featured the participation of Juan Bravo and the directors Ramón Fernández-Pacheco and Mario Muñoz-Atanet
CEACOP, an association that represents Andalusian SMEs in the construction and consulting sector, celebrated in Seville its thirtieth anniversary with almost 300 guests, among whom were the sector’s regional leaders, professionals from the business world, authorities from all administrations, and representatives of civil society.
Carlos López, president of CEACOP, took a look back at the association’s 30 years of history and highlighted one of its main achievements: having succeeded in getting Andalusian companies to move from playing a secondary role in public works—with only about 10% of awards in the 1990s—to currently taking on about 60% of the works that are carried out in Andalusia.
In this regard, he highlighted the trust that the Junta de Andalucía, town councils, and provincial councils place in companies in the region, while calling for greater participation in works promoted by the central Administration, which currently awards them only 30% of contracts.
During his address, he called for more investment to undertake the new infrastructures that the autonomous community needs, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining the works. "Keeping is cheaper than fixing. Infrastructures are not an expense; they are an investment."
López took advantage of the setting to call for solutions to the problems facing the sector, including, among them, a new Contracts Law that allows for an automatic and cost-adjusted price review, as fluctuating as the result of the latest armed conflicts. "The cost of energy, of petroleum derivatives, or of raw materials in general has increased. All this is causing an extraordinary, uncontrollable, and sustained over time increase in the amount of the materials used in construction, which companies are bearing. We require legal certainty and economic balance." He also asked for an investment plan that does not depend on European funds or emergencies, which he quantified at around 5,000 million euros annually, allocating a fixed and constant portion to maintenance and security.
Support from the Board to the sector
Next, the counselor for Agriculture, Fishing, Water and Sustainable Development, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, recognized the effort of the Andalusian business fabric to generate stability and economic development in Andalusia. He committed to carrying out more and better water infrastructures to guarantee water, placing emphasis on its conservation. He also highlighted the good communication with the sector, which allows the administration to make better decisions to guarantee the safety of the infrastructures and their development.
For his part, the counselor for Development and Mobility, Mario Muñoz-Atanet Sánchez, highlighted the good figures for investment in public works in the last year, around 4,500 million euros. His aim is to maintain the investment pace in his ministry for the coming year, "through planning, preparing projects and tendering correctly". He brought to the fore the strength of the Andalusian construction sector and the need for companies to carry out the projects that the community needs.
The event was closed by Juan Bravo, deputy secretary of Finance, Housing and Infrastructures of the PP at the national level, who took up the demands of CEACOP and showed himself committed to the sector’s requirements. During his speech, he announced an infrastructure plan in the event that his party governs, endowed with more than 300,000 million euros over 15 years, mobilizing around 20,000 million euros annually.
At the same time, he requested collaboration from the private sector to build one million homes that Spain will need for the year 2028. "We have a huge challenge and the administration alone is incapable; we have to go hand in hand with the companies".
During the course of the event, there was space for remembering the victims of the train accident in Urda and Adamuz.