The Interministerial Committee for Economic Planning (Cipe) has launched the "Enterprises and Competitiveness" operational plan proposed by the Ministry of Economic Development. The project provides for an allocation of 1,4 billion euros for the Development and Cohesion Fund, the Italian government's financing instrument for underutilized areas of the country. To these funds "further regional resources may be added, for an estimated amount of 2 billion euros - reads the note from the Mise - which will determine a volume of public/private investments of no less than 4 billion over the three-year period".
The plan, divided into three lines of action, "is aimed at supporting and strengthening development contracts, at implementing a robust action in support of the 'space economy', at increasing the endowment of the SME Initiative programme".
In particular, 916 million euros are attributed to development contracts "which will allow for the scrolling of the Invitalia tender ranking and the support of investment initiatives shared by the Regions, centered on production specialization and consistent with the guidelines of the National Industry 4.0 Plan, to which priority is explicitly recognized", continues the note.
The Space Economy Plan, financed with 350 million euros, "is structured as a sectoral initiative of significant critical mass aimed at allowing Italy to transform the space industry into one of the driving forces of the country's growth", explains the ministry.
The enhancement of the endowment of the SME Initiative Plan, worth 100 million euros, continues the Mise, "will finally increase the volume of credit that can be allocated to investments by small and medium-sized enterprises, through one or more securitization operations of loans already disbursed".
The 916 million euros earmarked for strengthening development contract funding are earmarked: for 658 million to less developed regions; 74 million to regions in transition; for 184 million to the more developed regions.
The 350 million aimed at the "space economy" are instead distributed as follows: 78 million to the less developed regions; 7 million to regions in transition; 265 million to the more developed regions.
“The measures financed on the initiative of the Mise will produce an immediate economic impact – commented Antonio Gentile, Undersecretary for Economic Development with responsibility for economic planning – We have a portfolio of projects of significant value for both development contracts and the space economy programme. , characterized by strong innovative contents and susceptible to further increase through the contribution and participation of the Regions".
The Plan will have to represent "an opportunity to establish a permanent oversight of growth policies - underlined Gentile - The reversal of the economic trend and the signs of recovery coming from the business system must push us to simplify, act for clear and distinct objectives , also with a view to financing new major sectoral initiatives in the short term through recourse to a portion of the additional 11 billion euros of the Development and Cohesion Fund entered into the 2017 budget law".
