PORTUGAL AND Spain are negotiating the precise location of the strategic trans-frontier distribution point of Caia.
It is hoped that Portuguese firms will use the site as a distribution launch pad for the rest of Europe and that Spanish companies will use it as a distribution point for Portugal. At the new site there will be manufacturers, goods wrappers and warehouses.
The structure, costing around 20 million euros and set to create around 1,000 jobs, was first mooted at a meeting between Rodriguez Ibarra, president of Spain’s Extremadura Council, and Portuguese government representatives at the beginning of June. Later, Portugal’s Secretary of State for Transport, Ana Paula Vitorino, speaking in Elvas, declared the government’s intention to go ahead.
The enterprise will straddle the frontier – Spain’s Ayuntamiento de Badajoz has already set aside 236 hectares for its construction. The proximity to important lines of communication was one of the factors contributing to the project’s choice of location. It will be cited near train lines and the Lisbon-Madrid and Badajoz-Seville motorways. It is also envisaged that there will be space for hotels, offices, restaurants, banks and car parks at the site.
