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The view of an Argentine who built his career on civic participation. And his assessment of the port city, a protagonist of world trade.
What were the reasons why ENAPRO organised these International Conferences and hosted prestigious representatives from the port world?
ENAPRO organized this meeting to exchange ideas with the public and private sectors of other ports to implement joint actions aimed at strengthening the productive development of the city, the country and the region. The meeting, which has strong support from the local and regional port community, is in line with the idea of placing the Port of Rosario on the international agenda and of being able to engage in joint complementary and cooperative actions with the rest of the Argentine ports and those of neighboring countries.
The port of Rosario is the departure point for most of Argentina's exports. Soybeans and their derivatives are the main products that distinguish it.
Since 1994, ENAPRO has been in charge of managing docks and lands transferred to the province of Santa Fe. In the operational areas, it manages three port terminals: the Passenger River Station, the Seport SA Bulk Terminal, and the Multipurpose Terminal whose concession is in the hands of the company Terminal Puerto Rosario (TPR).
This multipurpose terminal is the only one that operates containers in the region. It has the appropriate conditions to become one of the most strategic in the country when handling cargo from the Central, NOA and NEA regions, especially since TPR, the concessionaire company, was formed by Vicentín and incorporated Grupo Ultramar de Chile as a partner. In addition, it can offer multiple port operations such as handling liquids and general cargo. The connection provided by the Paraná Paraguay Waterway is used mainly for minerals.
On the other hand, the Granelera Terminal has gained great importance due to the volume of its cargo, which in 2012 reached 3.600.000 tons composed of corn, wheat and sorghum. It is expected that its docks will be repaired to expand and improve its operational capacity.
But in addition to these services, the activities of the port of Rosario generate direct and indirect employment. More than 1000 people work in the terminals, Cargo Agents, Customs Brokers, shipping lines and fiscal warehouses, Public Administration agencies such as AFIP, Customs, INAL, SENASA and the Naval Prefecture.
Since 2008 we have set out to put our port at the centre of MERCOSUR logistics and to recover the pride that the people of Rosario felt for their port, which made the city and the region great. Today, after remodelling Rosario's urban development, it is reborn. the importance of the port in promoting more employment and sustainable development in the region.
Would remodeling the "port" at this particular moment in the country be similar to the project to rebuild the "Rosario made of people" brand, which began in 2001?
That experience implemented in 2001 was interesting. I remember that it was carried out under the direction of Hermes Binner. Its value was in the consensus of interests between the public and private sectors because this articulation was the formula that was given so that Rosario could face the crisis of 2001 where unemployment reached more than 20%. From this effort, a set of initiatives promoted by the municipality with great participation of civil society grew. In this way, the most neglected sectors were contained through the implementation of urban agriculture. That is, through the development of a series of initiatives that will allow the formation of Family and Community Gardens destined to the production of vegetables, fruits, aromatic and medicinal plants for self-consumption. Also, the Productive Gardens that generated the adequate infrastructure for the large-scale production of fruits, vegetables, medicinal, aromatic and ornamental plants, among others. This initiative, part of the Solidarity Economy, allowed producers to obtain stock to supply marketing points in the city intended for this purpose.
The case of the Fruit and Vegetable Producers allowed to sustain the productive development of the smallholders who were characterized by integrating family enterprises and by the ownership of small plots of land in which they develop traditional productive practices.
In turn, the Social Urban Agroindustries consisted of the creation, development and promotion of social enterprise models for the production of food and other products derived from urban agriculture made up of people not integrated into the formal labour market. To this end, it was proposed to generate management and organisation, production, distribution and marketing capacities, as well as to provide the regulatory frameworks that allowed the beneficiaries to become small formal entrepreneurs.
The Marketing Spaces have strengthened the marketing of urban agricultural products, which have been taking place in different neighbourhoods since 2002 through street fairs selling vegetables and crafts.
The current challenge is to modernize transport and logistics infrastructures in order to optimize communication and the transfer of goods, products and people at the regional and MERCOSUR levels. To promote a new mobility and territorial planning scheme that links the city of Rosario with the towns in the metropolitan area. To promote logistics and position Rosario as a reference city on the Hydroway and as a port and gateway to MERCOSUR.
Given the improvements that are going to be implemented, what conditions does the port of Rosario have to be considered a MERCOSUR hub?
I believe that the port of Rosario has the conditions to be the center of logistics for MERCOSUR and the main route for river transport in the country. It covers a total area of 100 hectares, making it the port with the largest surface area in Argentina. It has 1600 linear meters of docks. Located in the center of the bioceanic corridor and the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway, the port of Rosario is the last point of penetration from the ocean on the waterway that allows overseas ships. This offers a high potential to absorb foreign trade traffic from both MERCOSUR and the area adjacent to the Pacific Ocean. It is the only public service grain terminal and the only container terminal. This positions it as a multipurpose port that demonstrates its leadership. In addition to this, ENAPRO as a port authority extends its jurisdiction over the aforementioned terminals, nautical clubs, shipyards, the free trade zone of Bolivia and Paraguay. Conditions that favor it as the axis of MERCOSUR.
You have participated in this growth plan for Rosario. It is said that to know about growth you have to look at the tree. The higher the tree, the deeper its roots. This leads us to think and ask: who is Angel Elias?
I have always been involved in education, promoting regional development. I have a degree in Corporatism. I was President of the Rosario University Federation and a National Deputy. I taught, teaching Public Policies and Local Development at the National University of Rosario and Local Development Agencies at the CAECE University of Buenos Aires. I served as Secretary of Production, Foreign Trade and Employment Promotion for the Municipality of Rosario during the administration of Mayor Hermes Binner, where I was involved in the process of consultation with the private sector. I currently chair ENAPRO and the Institute for Political, Economic and Social Training, dedicated to training human resources for public management and which carries out various innovative initiatives such as the use of tools related to Web 2.0 in political activity.
What is your dream?
Contribute to shaping a society based on citizen participation and which, through consensus, achieves sustainable development with social equity.
Who has been your teacher?
My teacher was a cooperative member who was the driving force behind the credit union movement and a specialist in development planning: León Schujman.
What activity do you enjoy doing in your free time to reward your daily efforts?
Well, I really like reading and enjoying the river. Also tango!
In a world where individualism prevails, what suggestion would you give to people to change and overcome difficulties?
Promote participation with solidarity and transparency.
These are the words that Ángel Elías concludes with. He is an enthusiast, a promoter of encounter and participation of the people. Values that ADUANA NEWS has the pleasure of disseminating.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
