In 2022, the Region of Murcia development agency, INFO, through Invest in Murcia, has 28 new investment projects added to its portfolio that, if finally confirmed, would involve a total expected investment of 1,825 million euros as well as the creation of 3,200 new jobs.
In addition to these, 40 projects have been confirmed to be set up in the Region, and 30 others, started in previous years, have culminated in 2023.
When adding all of them, last year, 70 projects were confirmed for an investment that exceeds 2,000 million euros and that represent the creation of about 2,000 new jobs in the Region of Murcia. This was explained by regional Minister Luis Alberto Marín, who offered a balance of the work that the regional government does through the investment promotion agency from the Region of Murcia, Invest in Murcia, to attract investments.
He stressed that “we can conclude that in 2023 we have surpassed any previous record, breaking our glass ceiling”. For Marín, “more investment means more employment, greater economic strength and traction for new projects that consolidate the technological transformation in which we are immersed”. For this reason, from the regional government “we work to accompany those who set their sights on our region and pave their way until their business project is a reality,” he added.
He also claimed that in the period 2020-2023 the Region of Murcia “has been the 6th autonomous region in Spain that has received the most foreign investment, with more than 1,200 million euros, and the second uniprovincial region, behind Madrid”.
In this regard, the regional minister highlighted three important investment projects for their economic impact: a methanol plant for ships worth 800 million euros, a granulated plastic manufacturing plant worth 100 million euros and another for the manufacture of batteries worth 100 million euros.
The work carried out by ‘Invest in Murcia‘ and the Investment Acceleration Unit (UNAI) also yields significant data in terms of projects won and executed. Regarding this, 2023 “has been a record year, which shows the best figures since we have records. This corroborates the growing attractiveness of the Region for investors,” said Marín. In this sense, there are 40 projects that confirmed their investment in the Region last year. An investment that reaches 1,021 million euros, multiplying by five the previous year. These include the construction of a desalination plant for industrial use in Cartagena (€22.1 million), the construction of an aluminium profile factory in Lorca (€17.5 million) and the expansion of a food production and storage plant in Murcia (€9.3 million).
As for the projects implemented that were launched last year, the figure reaches 30. Among them, there is the construction of new facilities in Mula to generate biological products (8.3 million euros) or the transfer and expansion of a biotechnology plant for agribusiness in Alhama de Murcia (4.5 million). In addition, “seven out of 10 are greenfield projects, with a high potential in terms of job creation,” added Marín, who highlighted the stock of foreign investment. “Today we have 382 subsidiaries of foreign companies, which employ 27,410 people and have a turnover of 6,119 million euros,” he said.
Attractions to invest in the Region of Murcia
The regional Minister Marín highlighted some of the reasons why the Region “is increasingly attractive to investors.” Thus, he mentioned “regional talent, since we have a technological entrepreneurship ecosystem, known and recognized inside and outside our borders”. He also pointed to “the competitive operational costs of implementation; the privileged position in the Mediterranean arc; as well as the set of actions that the Government of the Region of Murcia has launched, which give us a competitive advantage over other destinations”.