The relocation of global companies that are part of the U.S. market’s supply chains has opened an opportunity for Sonora to establish synergies with neighboring cities and states across the border, which will translate into economic benefits for its population, explained Antonio Astiazarán Gutiérrez.
During a meeting with the editorial staff of El Economista, the mayor of Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, explained that with the nearshoring phenomenon, Phoenix, Arizona, has attracted more than $165 billion in investment and is the fastest-growing U.S. city.
Among the companies that have moved operations to that U.S. city is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, which aims to create around 80,000 jobs.
He said that, thanks to the relationship cultivated in recent years between Hermosillo and Phoenix, which consider themselves sister cities, the economic dynamism experienced by Phoenix now represents a valuable opportunity for Hermosillo and the state of Sonora as a whole.
While this company specializes in producing chips for various technological applications, Chihuahua can attract investment for the final stage of its supply chain and, from there, establish strategies to expand its benefits.
In this regard, Astiazarán emphasized that the municipal government he leads has the experience of the Ford plant in Hermosillo, the company’s largest in North America, with an annual production of over 320,000 units.
Ford arrived in Hermosillo first, and subsequently, conditions were created to attract investment from various companies that are part of its supply chain.
This was achieved through the training of a skilled workforce at the 28 universities in the region, resulting in better-paying jobs.
The mayor, who is serving his second term leading the Hermosillo city council, emphasized that to seize this opportunity, Chihuahua must do its homework: improve its infrastructure, guarantee water availability, achieve significant regulatory progress, and establish safe industrial and transportation corridors.
In this regard, he stated that Hermosillo’s experience can be replicated at the state level.
Regarding infrastructure development, he said the key is securing resources to invest in this sector, and to do so, it is essential to streamline the administration, starting with reducing the debt.
He said that in 2021, 63% of the city council’s budget came from federal revenue sharing and 37% from tax collection; however, currently, these figures have reversed, and 63% comes from its own resources.
He recalled that when he took office, Hermosillo was the most indebted city in the country. Currently, its credit rating has improved four notches, and its standing in the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit’s alert system has improved considerably.
The mayor commented that in 2021 the municipality only had 220 million pesos available for public works investment, but after streamlining the finances, more than 1 billion pesos were invested in 2025, and around 1.6 billion pesos will be invested in 2026.
Furthermore, a public-private partnership investment strategy was designed to avoid debt.
Under this model, for example, the city’s bypass is being built through a concession. In fact, he reported that Hermosillo is the first municipality to implement a concession of this type.
With this model, a public works project will be built with private funds in exchange for toll revenue, until the company recovers its investment and then pays a fee to the municipality.
The mayor said that streamlining the city’s administration also involved ensuring the proper use of the budget. In that regard, he commented that, for the third consecutive year, the Federal Auditor’s Office recently reported that it had no findings regarding Hermosillo’s public accounts.
Astiazarán Gutiérrez explained that there are two major challenges in the area of water. The first is achieving efficient use, and the second is reusing water.
He stated that in 2021, Hermosillo had an average water consumption of 400 liters per person per day, and a strategy was designed to reduce it to 200 liters per person per day.
A plan was developed in conjunction with Banobras (National Bank of Public Works and Services) to ensure the efficient use of water from the wells or dams to homes, and investments were also made in telemetry equipment.
Source: es-us.noticias.yahoo
