Critical development for industry in Colombia
22/05/2009
A plan to set up a free economic zone for the tanning sector in and around Bogotá seems to have won the backing of the local authorities and of the leather industry there.
Local media have reported that the regional government in the department of Cundinamarca is ready to set up the project on a 250-hectare site near the town of Chocondá. Cundinamarca is on Bogotá's doorstep, and the two areas together provide an estimated 85% of Colombia's leather.
The authorities have said that road infrastructure in the area around Chocondá is good and that a rail link to the site is also a possibility for the future. Reports say that a formal study has already begun into how best to set up the free zone, but tanners taking part could expect very low or, perhaps, zero rates of tax. The mayor's office in Chocondá has said the study is being carried out by Bogotá-based consultancy firm, Araújo Ibarra at a cost of around US$75,000.
The Colombian authorities have said that a private-sector operator from Brazil has expressed an interest in taking this project on and in contributing almost $6 million of a total investment of $19.2 million that they believe will be required. They have said that the scheme will generate around 500 new jobs and that 20 tanneries in the Bogotá area have already expressed an interest in being involved.
Professor José Estalin Rojas Amaya of the National University of Colombia has said this project will help the leather industry in the South American country become more efficient and improve its environmental performance and productivity (perhaps by as much as 50%). Tanneries will have much greater opportunities to export the leather they produce, to attend international exhibitions and find new markets for their products as a result of the initiative, he said.
At the same time, the authorities are set to impose a requirement that all participating tanneries become "fully legal", by declaring earnings and regularising the status of their employees.
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