Creation of free economic zone of Bay of Gibraltar approved by caretaker Spanish government & gazetted

The creation of the free economic zone of the Bay of Gibraltar has been approved by the caretaker Spanish government, and has been gazetted in Spain's Boletin Oficial del Estado.

This is one of the measures the Spanish government would be implementing as part of their wider Development Plan for the Campo de Gibraltar.

The Plan was announced by the Spanish government in November of last year, and also includes other measures to mitigate the potential impact of Brexit in the Campo area.

The free economic zone would be built across an area of approximately 130,000m2 and strategically placed at the entrance to the Port of Algeciras.

The Spanish government expect up to seventy new businesses to set up in the free zone, which could potentially create 800 new jobs.

For his part, while welcoming the news, the mayor of Algeciras Jose Ignacio Landaluce, has also called on the Spanish government to revive the plan to create a similar zone in an area that falls entirely within Algeciras.