Berkeley praised by Spanish media and regional government 

Both local and national media has reacted positively to a press conference held by Chief Operating Officer, Francisco Bellon, in Salamanca last week.

Local paper, Tribuna de Salamanca, highlighted that "con Berkeley va a acabar el desempleo en la provincia de Salamanca" [unemployment will disappear in the province of Salamanca thanks to Berkeley]. 

The Minister for the Environment, Juan Carlos Suárez-Quiñones, spoke at a press conference for the Consejo de Gobiero and praised Berkeley’s investment in the region and its promise of job creation. 

All articles noted that major contracts will be awarded before the end of the year and that development of the project is based on four fundamental pillars: respect for the environment, total and absolute respect for both health and safety, full commitment to the local communities and full commitment to transparency.

Managing Director, Paul Atherley, commented: 

“It’s fantastic to have such strong media support which reflects the growing awareness of the benefits the investment is bringing to the community.

Creating badly needed jobs is extremely important to us and we will continue to run training courses, equipping local residents with the skills needed for the 450 long term jobs the project is creating. 

We have commenced recruiting and are prioritizing jobs for locals. We are delighted to have received applications from over 110 of the 400 permanent residents of the nearby village of Villavieja, which gives some idea of the strength of the local support for the investment. We plan to have employed over 80 residents by next year.”

To read other recent articles in the Spanish media please click here