In the act, this Tuesday, September 27, the president maintained that the word “excellence” should not be avoided, instead the concept of “mediocrity” should be avoided, on the occasion of the inauguration of facilities at the headquarters of the Southwest Regional of the Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC). The work located in the Anglo neighborhood of the capital of Río Negro required an investment of 3,000,000 dollars in infrastructure.
Lacalle Pou was accompanied by the director of the institute, Andrés Moller; the directors of UTEC, Graciela Do Mato, Andrés Gil and Rodolfo Silveira, and the mayor of Río Negro, Omar Lafluf.
In his oratory, he expressed a strong commitment on the part of the Government with the UTEC and affirmed that he plans to continue with all the good that was being done and ensure budgetary, institutional and governance momentum.
He affirmed that UTEC “is part of the best Uruguay” and identified that institution as the sum of tradition, historical space, modernity, drive, risk and desire to excel. He also pointed out that this conjunction will allow progress for the country.
The works visited by the national and university authorities included a logistics engineering laboratory and a mechatronics laboratory (mechanics, electronics and programming); new laboratory for the analysis of human movement for biomedical engineering; open laboratory facilities for digital fabrication and new classrooms for the Southwest Regional Technological Institute.
Space 57 of what was the Frigorífico Anglo now houses new classrooms and laboratories. It is part of the UTEC headquarters installed since 2016 within the Industrial Landscape, a space that in 2015 was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
At the time, Moller recalled that one of the axes of the university is to be an active part of the technological and territorial development of the west coast region, through the generation of human talent and applied research.
The Southwest Regional Technical Institute is the largest building of the UTEC, it occupies 5,100 square meters, of which 1,600 belong to the new works that are inaugurated on the day. The new space, loaned to the study center for 20 years, is adjacent to the main building.
The total investment of the works added up to 3,000,000 dollars. In space 57 of the locations where Frigorífico Anglo worked, an infrastructure work was carried out worth 1,800,000 and the investment in furniture was 115,000. In addition, $100,000 was spent on 3D printing, cutting and scanning equipment for the innovation lab and other equipment.
Among the attendees were the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado, and the Minister of Education and Culture, Pablo da Silveira, other authorities, teachers, students and officials of that institution.
Tour of temporary residence and port of Fray Bentos
In the afternoon, President Lacalle Pou visited the recently refurbished Unión Obreros Portuarios temporary home. It is a joint project between the Ministry of Social Development (Mides), the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP), the Municipality of Río Negro, the Society of Forestry Producers of Uruguay and port retirees.
During his tour, which was also attended by the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado, the Undersecretary of the MTOP, Juan José Olaizola; the mayor of Río Negro, Omar Lafluf, and the head of ASSE, Leonardo Cipriani, the president spoke with home users.
The center ensures availability to accommodate people from other cities who come to Fray Bentos for medical treatment or pregnancy monitoring. There are currently ASSE patients using the facilities.
Later, Lacalle Pou visited the center for homeless people called El Timón, which operates on the top floor of the building. This device was inaugurated last April thanks to the articulation between state and private organizations.
Subsequently, the president went to the city’s port terminal, where he held a meeting with the president of the National Ports Administration (ANP), Juan Curbelo. Álvaro Delgado, Juan José Olaizola and Omar Lafluf also participated.
Speaking to the press, he announced that there is a possibility that this port will become a transit point for Paraguayan pulp, due to the possible installation of a plant for the sector in Paraguay. “Uruguay is Paraguay’s natural outlet to the sea,” he said. In this sense, he expressed that the possible dredging of the Uruguay River is under feasibility study, and that the realization could be shared with Argentina.
“We are going to stimulate and do everything possible from the national government so that this port has the activity it deserves”, said the President of the Republic.
