After more than seven decades of collaboration, Azucarera and the Santander Free Trade Zone have renewed their commercial alliance with a new lease agreement that will guarantee the continuity of operations for the next 20 years and will involve the investment of 3 million euros for the modernization of the molasses park, located at the dockside of the Free Trade Zone
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The Santander Free Trade Zone and Azucarera will continue to collaborate after more than 70 years of close relationship: the institutions have signed a new lease contract that will guarantee the continuity of their operations for the next 20 years. This alliance is reinforced by the investment of nearly three million euros that Azucarera will make in the modernization of the molasses park, a space located at the dockside of the Free Trade Zone.
This capital will increase storage capacity and the possibility of diversifying the product to be stored and marketed, while improving logistics processes and creating a safer and more efficient environment.
Azucarera’s commitment to the Santander Free Trade Zone is highlighted by the potential of this area to attract investment and promote innovation in Cantabria. Thanks to its advanced infrastructure, tax benefits and commitment to sustainability, the Santander Free Trade Zone has established itself as a hub of economic development and a driver of business growth and competitiveness in the region.
In this sense, the Special State Delegate of the Santander Free Trade Zone, Ainoa Quiñones, has valued as “very positive” this rubric, highlighting that “it creates opportunities for growth and competitiveness for the whole region”. Quiñones highlighted that “the renewal of this agreement with Azucarera reaffirms the confidence in the potential of the Santander Free Trade Zone as a pole of industrial and logistic growth in Cantabria and reinforces our capacity to attract investment and employment to the region.”
The investment will modernize the operational spaces in the Santander Free Trade Zone, improving logistics processes and creating a safer and more efficient environment.
Currently, Azucarera’s facilities in the Santander Free Trade Zone handle all the import and export of molasses in northern Spain, with an annual volume of between 25,000 and 30,000 tons. This movement represents approximately 20% of the total goods handled in the Santander Free Trade Zone and between 12% and 14% of the liquid bulk traffic in the Port of Santander.
Strategic investment: three million euros to boost the future
Among the planned works, Azucarera will invest in the construction of four tanks of 2,000 tons each and four 34-ton mixers, in addition to other advanced equipment that will allow it to adapt its product to market requirements. The aim is to increase storage capacity and the possibility of diversifying the product to be stored and marketed.
This modernization seeks to respond to the recent expansion of the Azucarera refinery in Miranda de Ebro and will improve the competitiveness of this area.
The works are scheduled for completion in June 2027 and will be carried out in the space freed up by the dismantling of obsolete facilities in the molasses park. Located at the dockside of the Zona Franca Santander, it has an area of almost 3,000 m2 in a privileged area to facilitate loading and unloading operations to and from the ship. The dismantling work has already been completed, removing the two of the five warehouses that were located so far in the plot and that were deteriorated.
A “bet for the future” for the Delegate of the Free Trade Zone, which reinforces the competitiveness of the institution and positions it as “a Free Trade Zone at the height of the current and future market requirements, a focus of attraction for new national and international investments”.
An agreement that reinforces seven decades of collaboration
Azucarera’s presence in the territory of the Santander Free Trade Zone dates back to the last century. In 1945, the first contract was signed with the then called Depósito Franco de Santander, establishing the basis of a collaboration that has adapted to the times and needs of the sector.
Subsequently, in June 2005, a new agreement with the Consorcio para el Depósito Franco del Puerto de Santander allowed the storage capacity of the Molasses Park to be expanded, in response to the growth in demand.
Today, after more than seven decades of cooperation, this alliance continues to evolve with new investments and projects that reinforce the commitment of both parties to the economic development of the region and competitiveness in the sector.
Historical movement of Azucarera’s goods in ZFS
AZUCARERA’s facilities are currently dedicated to the movement of molasses, essentially for animal consumption, with an annual volume of 25,000 – 30,000 MT/year. This represents approximately 20% of the volume of goods within the Santander Free Trade Zone.
Santander Free Trade Zone: a key point for competitiveness
The Free Trade Zone offers a privileged environment for companies looking to grow with tax advantages, logistical access and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Those companies that locate in its facilities enjoy a number of key benefits, such as reduced tariffs and tax charges on the import and export of goods, a strategic location that facilitates access to international and domestic routes, as well as an extensive network of services to facilitate their daily operations.
In addition, the context of growth of consolidated companies in the area, such as Azucarera, creates a collaborative and dynamic environment. The improved infrastructure and logistics facilities make the Free Trade Zone a key space for Cantabrian or national companies seeking competitiveness and efficiency.
The combination of these benefits, together with its privileged location in the Port of Santander, differentiates this Free Trade Zone from others in the country, consolidating it as an ideal space for efficient logistics operations of international scope. A framework that, for Quiñones, favors the “expansion and consolidation of the companies’ operations”. According to him, “the combination of our tax benefits and our privileged position, with easy access to various routes, optimizes the flow of goods and the logistic efficiency of the companies that operate here”.
The investment will modernize the operational spaces in the Santander Free Trade Zone, improving logistics processes and creating a safer and more efficient environment.
