The Regional Confederation of Business Organizations of Cartagena (COEC) in Torre Pacheco considers a "strategic error" the possibility of duplicating the fairgrounds in a uniprovincial community, such as the Region of Murcia, while highlighting the economic viability of Ifepa.
In this way, COEC Torre Pacheco pronounces on the announcement of the mayor of Murcia, José Ballesta, to build in the district of Corvera what would be the first fairground of the Campo de Murcia, on a plot of 5,700 square meters and with capacity for about 8,000 people.
To do this, the City Council will invest 223,000 euros, which had to add another 50,000 euros from the Autonomous Community, through the European funds Feder managed by the Rural Development Association Campoder.
The president of COEC Torre Pacheco, Julián Pedreño, considered that those 50,000 euros of financing by the regional government "should be invested in fixing once and for all" the accesses to Ifepa, as well as to carry out infrastructure works in this fairground, "that is also perfectly profitable and does not generate any debt".
"Ifepa is the fairground of the Region of Murcia and is perfectly compatible and complementary to other fairgrounds, such as Lorca or Yecla, but try to build another infrastructure to 25 kilometers from the one that already exists, is consolidated and also provides service to Murcia, Cartagena and the Mar Menor, is a duplicity and nonsense, "said Pedreño.
In this regard, he stressed that Ifepa is a "practically self-financing" institution, since 95 percent of its activity is supported by funds external to the institution that, in addition, "has a level of zero indebtedness".
In fact, he recalled that the National Association of Spanish Fairs and publicly denounced the "excess" of existing fairs throughout the country, made at the expense of the economic bonanza and without taking into account road studies and economic profitability.
"We have an enclosure in Torre Pacheco considered one of the medium-sized exhibition centers best positioned at the national level, by activity and infrastructure, and any public investment that is to be made in this area would have to go precisely to improve and contribute to its growth ", defended Pedreño.
He also recalled that the Trade Fair Institution of Torre Pacheco (Ifepa) has 27,000 square meters of covered area and a similar number of parking, "perfectly equipped to host fairs and exhibitions highly consolidated, professionalized and successful, in its more than three decades of existence".
Finally, Pedreño said that although it seems that the project designed for Corvera would have a much smaller size and would mainly be used as an enclosure for parties, since COEC Torre Pacheco will be "vigilant" so that "public investments are allocated equitably and proportionally, attending to economic criteria of viability, profitability, generation of wealth and added value ".
Source: COEC Torre Pacheco