Zonamerica plans to invest more than US$100 million in real estate projects during the next yearas it bets on global supply chains boosting the country’s appeal as a regional hub.
In order to boost the business —and responding to the queries it receives from companies in the region that are looking for a strategic center to serve Latin America—, Zonamérica will invest US$ 18 million in new offices and storage spaces.
According to the US media Bloomberg, the international logistics network that emerged in the 1990s was affected by the pandemic and the war between Ukraine and Russia, and —as the costs of moving goods around the world increased—, Zonamerica began looking for companies to join the regional offices and distribution centers that multinationals have opened in recent years in Uruguay.
It is that thanks to the stable economy of the country and the fiscal benefits that it grants, the free zones of the country captured a large part of that business. With more than a thousand companies including Finnish pulp manufacturer UPM and Tata Consultancy Services, Zonamerica represented nearly US$2.2 billion of the US$5.3 billion in goods and services that were exported in 2019.
Among the multinationals that already supply the regional market from the free zone is the German electric tool manufacturer, Einhell Germany, and the Brazilian retailer, Lojas Renner. In addition, Zonamerica is receiving more inquiries from Chilean, Peruvian and Brazilian companies.
Homes in Zonamerica
According to what the general manager of Zonamerica, Martín Dovat, said in an interview with Bloomberg, he also wants to boost the competitiveness of the free zone building houses near the property where more than 10,000 people work. Within this framework, Zonamerica plans to start a $50 million joint housing project next year.
