Aerospace and Aeronautical Industry Council unveils website to attract investment
The Aerospace and Aeronautical Industry Council of Puerto Rico (CIAA, in Spanish) has launched a website as part of its strategy to promote the trade group’s initiatives, showcase Puerto Rico’s potential to the world, and attract new investors. The announcement was made by Joel Pizá, who is the council’s president as well as executive director of the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.
The CIAA president stated that the website is a useful, dynamic and easily accessible tool that allows direct connection with those interested in developing aerospace and aeronautical projects in Puerto Rico. Its main menu has several sections, such as Our Team (purpose, mission, vision, CIAA members, and legal basis), Press Room (recent events, press releases, press reviews, public notices, gallery: photos and videos), and Business Opportunities (location, infrastructure, incentive programs, specialized higher education programs and the Puerto Rico aerospace industry cluster).
In addition, the website features a Licensing section (application process for an operator license for a Launch Spaceport at Puerto Rico’s José Aponte De la Torre Airport in Ceiba, environmental studies and reports) and a Contact Us link.
“It is with great satisfaction that we launch this website of the Aerospace and Aeronautical Industry Council of Puerto Rico, which elevates our work to another level in promoting the council’s initiatives, providing opportunities for development and investment in these types of industries in Puerto Rico, and exposing the island’s potential to the world, both in its commercial and educational institutions’ area. I thank the Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Services (Prits) office and its executive director, Nannette Martinez Ortiz, for collaborating on the creation of the digital page that is available in English and Spanish and has cybersecurity guarantees to safeguard its users’ information,” Pizá said.
For her part, the Prits director said: “From our office, we are redesigning government agency portals with a focus on improving the user experience, so that citizen services are provided efficiently, through the implementation of new world-class technologies and innovations.”
Martínez also emphasized that her office “will continue to collaborate with agencies to achieve the government’s digital transformation, standardizing interagency systems and procedures while promoting government transparency.”
Pizá noted that the CIAA was established by Gov. Pedro Pierluisi on April 25, 2022, with the objective of studying and recommending an integrated plan for research, development and investment in Puerto Rico’s aerospace and aeronautical industry.
Eleven months after its inception, the CIAA has advanced the request for proposal (RFP) process for a spaceport operator at the Aponte De la Torre Airport. Recently, a meeting took place at the White House with National Space Council officials to discuss the island’s aerospace industry development, including the spaceport proposal at the Ceiba airport.
It is expected that between summer and September 2024, the Federal Aviation Administration will grant the spaceport license to Puerto Rico’s government.