The president of the Canary Islands Government, Fernando Clavijo, made an official visit to Lanzarote this Tuesday during which he announced that the future Law of Extraordinary Credit will have an "important allocation to launch the social and health infrastructures that the Islands need", and among which he has included the high-requirement residence for the elderly that is intended to be installed in Teguise.
Clavijo has also shown his "support" for the Congress Palace that has been claimed for years on the island, and that was even projected and awarded without being executed. According to the Canarian president, the people of Lanzarote have been "demanding this infrastructure for some time and it is only fair that they have it". For his part, the president of the Cabildo, Pedro San Ginés, stated that the project will have a total cost of 40 million euros, "most of which will come from the Government of the Canary Islands", according to the regional Executive.
In addition to making several visits, including to the sites where some of the announced projects are intended to be developed, Fernando Clavijo also held a meeting in the Cabildo with representatives of the island's town councils to discuss the money that will arrive through the Canary Islands Development Fund (FDCAN). Funds that, according to Clavijo, will mean a "change in the island's economic model through cultural and tourist development and a commitment to renewable energies".
"A historic opportunity", according to San Ginés
"The FDCAN funds that the Government of the Canary Islands decided to distribute and the criteria with which it did so, represent a historic opportunity for the development of the Islands as a whole and, in particular, of the peripheral ones, which have a slower development", said Pedro San Ginés for his part. In addition, at the meeting they reiterated that these funds will mean an investment in Lanzarote of 212.2 million euros over the next 10 years, with the Canary Islands Government bearing 80 percent of the financing and the Cabildo the remaining 20 percent.
In the immediate future, Fernando Clavijo pointed out that "Lanzarote will receive 35.6 million euros from the annuities corresponding to 2016 and 2017" and stressed that the result of the projects "will translate into quality of life for the inhabitants of Lanzarote".
On the other hand, Pedro San Ginés confirmed that they already have the 2017 funds and that the town councils of Lanzarote will be able to undertake "many projects" thanks to the funds that the Cabildo will release through the FDCAN. "In a couple of months we will be able to transfer seven million euros to the town councils, which will have free disposal to carry out very interesting projects", he assured.
Visit to the El Almacén Hub
During his visit to the island, Clavijo was accompanied by the Minister of Finance of the Government of the Canary Islands, Rosa Dávila, and the Minister of Tourism, Mariate Lorenzo. And among other things, he visited the creative-cultural business project incubator that the Cabildo and the Lanzarote Chamber of Commerce will launch in El Almacén with FDCAN funds.
"Within the cultural, artistic and commercial laboratory of El Almacén, we have opted to create a Hub of creative industries and cultural tourism that will be reflected in a coworking space that provides new companies with a favorable environment to develop, and a specialized consulting program that helps turn projects into competitive companies integrated into the business and cultural fabric of Lanzarote", according to the Executive.
In addition, he also visited the land where the new Olympic swimming pool will be located, within the Lanzarote Sports City, which he referred to as "one of the most important attractions of the Island in terms of sports tourism and athlete training".
