Minister visits Velez Rubio to inspect first half of improvements

    The Regional minister for tourism, commerce and sport, Maria Isabel Requena, has visited Velez Rubio to see the results of the first phase of the 'revitalisation' works being carried out in the town. The objective of the works is to give an impulse to the shops and small businesses in the town by improving the appearance of the streets with the greatest concentration of shops by re-paving them and renewing the street furniture and improving access to the shops, providing more parking areas and putting new signage in the area to give the commercial zone an distinct image. The Junta de Andalucia has provided Velez Rubio with a grant of 1.4 million euros, 700,000 of which has now been spent.     

    The money is part of the Junta's 3^rd Interior Commerce Integral Plan, which projects a total budget of 141 million euros up to the year 2010. Among the most important objectives of the plan are the technological modernisation of small businesses and commerce and the development of new commercial formats. Traditional commerce is also given an important role in the plan. There is also a special plan to increases productivity in small businesses by helping them adapt to the needs of the current markets.