The President of the Government of the Azores stated today that dynamics of the regional economy goes well beyond tourism, pointing out the growth in private investment projects that have applied for Competir+ incentive scheme.
"Three years after the implementation of Competir+, we have about 815 projects submitted that represent nearly 346 million Euros in private investment under this incentive scheme," stressed Vasco Cordeiro. He spoke at the opening of the new wood pellet plant owned by the company Tecnovia Ambiente in the municipality of Ribeira Grande.
Vasco Cordeiro stated that the evolution of regional economy may be measured by the fact that entrepreneurs submitted 100 more investment projects in the first three years of Competir+, compared to the same of period under the previous incentive scheme. The overall investment already exceeds 30 million Euros.
"At this stage, there is a clear and unequivocal growth of the Azorean economy as evidenced by several data," said the President of the Government. In this regard, he mentioned the example of the Economic Activity Indicator, which assess the general state of the economy. In 2017, it grew more than two percent.
"This clearly evidences the positive dynamics and strength in comparison with the more recent past. Several indicators show that the growth and dynamics of the Azorean economy go well beyond tourism," said Vasco Cordeiro.
In this context, the President of the Government pointed out the growth registered in several indicators, such as the licensing of works (6.7 percent), cement sales (22.2 percent), unloaded fish (10.7 percent) and new car sales (7.3 percent). As for the tourism sector, there was a growth of 18.5 percent in the number of passengers landing in the Azores and about 20 percent in the number of overnight stays.
"The fact that we currently have an unemployment rate that is about half of that registered three years ago is a satisfactory result. In the first quarter of 2014, the unemployment rate stood at 18 percent. Today, the rate, as ascertained in 2017, stands at about 9 percent, with lower quarters," said the government official.
At the opening of the new plant, focused on the promotion of renewable energy with consumption of endogenous raw materials, Vasco Cordeiro also noted that 2017 registered a growth over eight percent in exports and a decrease of nine percent in imports.
"This is a path that we want to strengthen. In this context, the Region should take over the responsibility of transforming, innovating and reforming, as it was recently announced for the Regional Public Business Sector. It should also implement measures to adapt the Government's action to the new situation we are living in the Azores," said Vasco Cordeiro.