The Bajío has started 2022 with a good performance, achieving 20% of the national industrial demand, with almost 129 thousand square meters. Guanajuato leads with 53 thousand square meters, flanked by Querétaro and San Luis Potosí with 39 and 37 thousand square meters, respectively.

Although this bimonthly figure still does not reach what was recorded in the lowlands, which totaled almost 220 thousand square meters during the first quarter of 2021, what remains to be incorporated is what is consolidated in the month of March, which is expected to be very active, ahead of the closing of the first quarter of 2022.

The demand for the lowland area managed to exceed more than one million square meters during 2021, where 66% was concentrated in Querétaro and Guanajuato, which closed the year with 358 and 313 thousand square meters, respectively.

Mainly manufacturing predominated in shaping demand throughout the year, although in Querétaro the participation of the logistics sector has been increasing.

The Secretary of Sustainable Development (Sedesu) of Querétaro, Marco Antonio Del Prete Tercero, told El Economista that he had finalized 11 investment projects for this year, where companies in the automotive, electronics, as well as food and beverage industries would be generating more than 2 1,500 new jobs in the entity.

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The state government and local businessmen from Queretaro will embark on a tour of Spain, Switzerland and France, showing the advantages of the shoal for European companies. The case of Spain is of special interest since it was the largest investor in 2021 with 204.1 million dollars of FDI to Querétaro, contributing 24.9% of the state's total.

For its part, Guanajuato led the rebound in FDI in the lowlands during 2021, registering 1,745 million dollars, which represented an annual increase of 776% in the attraction of foreign capital, driven by the automotive sector, from Japan.

In Querétaro, during the first months of the year, we have seen the expansion of Martinrea's operations announced, which will invest 155 million dollars in its aluminum parts plant, and so will Mars Petcare, which will invest 100 million dollars to expand its pet food operations.

Other examples of expansions in the automotive industry are the German firm Brose, Bosch Mexico and BCS Automotive Interface Solutions. This last company plans to invest 59 million dollars and start operations in the second quarter of 2022 generating control systems for the interior of vehicles, starting with Tesla requirements.

Other lines of business such as packaging, technology, and communications start investments, such as the cases of Nexgen Packaging, Microsoft with its new data center, and Megacable, which moves to Querétaro.

Of interest: El Bajío and its impact on national industrial demand so far in 2022

Guanajuato is not far behind and consolidates investments in the automotive and aeronautical line of business with Metalsa, which invests 170 million dollars to supply Toyota, F-Tech, which lays the first stone to increase its production capacity by adding almost 10,000 square meters to its facilities and the Guanajuato firm Horizontec manufacturer of light aircraft, which will settle in Celaya.

San Luis Potosí, with its highly manufacturing profile, also registered almost 37,000 square meters during the first months of 2022, having completed 2021 with the capture of 18 new investments, as reported by the Secretary of State Economic Development (SEDECO) of San Luis Potosí , being projects that correspond to national investment.

2022 will be marked by the reactivation of manufacturing, where various installed companies will continue betting on growth in the lowland area.