Nuevo leon invests in infrastructure to strengthen fdi inflows

According to Iván Rivas Rodríguez, state Secretary of Economy, the state of Nuevo León benefits from its 14-kilometer border with Texas, United States, as well as the border port of Colombia, which will be the state's second most important revenue collection customs office.

He said that the state boasts a significant potential land that could be used to the benefit of the region's development; thus, a Master Plan has been drawn up to enhance the state's competitiveness, which includes the development of highway infrastructure for a more efficient, safe and free connectivity to the border, to be ready by 2024.

The Nuevo Leon International Highway Axis will allow the creation of overland communication from Federal Highway 57 to the northern border in Colombia, Nuevo Leon, through major highways throughout the state.

This axis is composed of the Puerto Colombia modernization, the construction of the 81-kilometer Interserrana highway, from Federal Highway 57 to Federal Highway 85, the third phase of the Metropolitan Peripheral Ring Road, the 56.5-kilometer La Gloria-Colombia highway, as well as complementary works such as the State highway number 1 modernization and rehabilitation.

In addition, reinforcement of security for cargo transportation will be strengthened by setting up surveillance points to ensure that merchandise reaches its destination intact.

He added that Colombia has a unique joint inspection program, through which registered companies can cross goods within five to five minutes, and be reliable and low risk, and that the inspections will be carried out in a single joint inspection program.

The Port of Colombia has a unique joint inspection program, through which registered companies can cross merchandise within five to 10 minutes, and the inspections will be reliable and low-risk, with minimal revisions, which will have a positive effect on companies by saving time, money and improving productivity.

The Mobility Master Plan, he recalled, will have an investment of over 100 billion pesos, to be distributed during this six-year term of office in order to provide decent and sustainable urban transportation, intelligent mobility, complete streets and regional connectivity.

Furthermore, the state government is currently working on a digital one-stop shop to simplify all the procedures and permits required for foreign companies to set up in the state.

He also stressed that the Research and Technological Innovation Park (PIIT), promotes the creation and growth of innovative companies in the state. "We want investors to consider us as a federal entity with the ability to develop mind-business and not only manufacturing," he stated.

Nuevo León, an attractive destination for investment

Nuevo León is the leading contributor to the country's economy in the secondary sector, with 11.4% of the national figure, followed by the State of Mexico with 7.8%, added Iván Rivas.

As for job creation, from January to November 2022, Nuevo León ranked fourth nationally, with 110,098 formal jobs. Nevertheless, the state has stood out for maintaining labor peace for the last 20 years.

" With the country's best trained workforce, our technological and logistical infrastructure, made up by more than 140 industrial parks, has led companies specializing in sectors such as machinery and equipment manufacturing to choose the state as the location for their operations," he added.

The machinery and equipment manufacturing sector exports around $4.6 billion dollars each year, representing 11.1% of the state's exports and creating 38,000 jobs.

"We are a pro-business state. One out of every five dollars invested in the country is destined to Nuevo León". Although Mexico City ranked first in foreign direct investment (FDI) with 10,296 million pesos, as a result of Amazon and Netflix investments, Nuevo León ranked second nationwide with 2,805 million dollars, from January to September 2022, according to data from the federal Ministry of Economy.

On the other hand, Nuevo León currently boasts 13 formalized clusters working under the triple helix model (government-academia-private initiative) in order to promote greater growth in key sectors such as: aerospace, automotive, health, biotech, nanotech, tourism, household appliances, software, interactive media, logistics and transportation, housing, agri-food and energy.

The state also has a complete integration of the supply chain, thus attracting over 4,200 foreign companies, mainly from the automotive, household appliances, food and aerospace sectors. Some of these companies are KIA Mexico, Denso, Polaris, Panasonic, Magna, Daimler, Iberdrola, Honeywell, Whirlpool, LG, Nidec, Danfoss, Mars, Hershey's, Heineken, Lenovo, Softtek, Jabil, Kohler, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Hisense, ZF Group, Stanley Black & Decker, Bosch, Quanta Computer, among others.

New companies

"So far we already hold 101 projects in our portfolio that have already confirmed their investment or expansion. Our target sectors are information technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and electromobility. Some 8% of all the investment that came this year is electromobility, high value-added technology; these are companies looking for skilled labor, technicians and engineers".

Finally, Iván Rivas Rodríguez stated that Nuevo León's best asset is its highly trained workforce, which currently promotes dual education so that young people have the skills and abilities required by the market.