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The former San Javier Airport is about to take on an entirely new life. What was once a bustling passenger terminal is now being positioned as the Region of Murcia’s latest innovation space, with work about to begin on a cutting-edge technology hub specialising in aerospace and satellite applications.

 

According to the Institute for Development (Info), the first step is already under way. The bidding process has opened for the renovation of the so-called ‘Technical Block’ building, with a €732,655 budget, 60% of which will be covered by the European Regional Development Fund. Interested companies have 20 days to present their bids and once awarded, the work will be expected to finish within six months.

 

The plan is to transform almost 730 square metres of interior space into a dual-use aerospace hub that can support training, start-ups and research.

 

Regional Minister Marisa López Aragón called the project “a first step, but with an ambitious vision.”

She made the announcement during a visit to the airfield alongside San Javier’s Mayor José Miguel Luengo and Colonel Luis Felipe González Asenjo, director of the General Air Academy.

 

The works will eventually go well beyond just the inside of the defuct terminal. Plans include landscaped green areas, shaded and open-air parking, new lighting and spaces for recreation. A modern access-control system, flexible office modules for businesses and two fully equipped multipurpose classrooms are also on the list.

 

The site will feature meeting rooms, offices for management, storage facilities, dining space, IT and telecoms connections, security systems and even leisure areas.

 

According to San Javier officials, “these facilities will also be used to host specialised training courses in satellite technologies developed within the framework of the Caetra program, the regional government's strategic plan to promote dual technologies for civil and military use.”

 

In time, the San Javier centre will be just one piece of a wider network of hubs across the Region of Murcia under the Caetra program, which is designed to connect the Region’s industrial potential with European strategic priorities.

 

“The San Javier centre will be a key space in the deployment of Caetra, a pioneering program that unites talent, research and industry with a strategic and European perspective,” Minister López Aragón concluded.

 

For more local information go to the home page of San Javier Today

 

Images: Ayuntamiento de San Javier