Wallonie Entreprendre plans to invest €2.5 billion between 2025 and 2029, provide guarantees amounting to €1.25 billion, and attain a cumulative result of at least €750 million over the period, according to a new roadmap presented by the regional institution.
The roadmap was approved on Wednesday by the board of Wallonie Entreprendre, which is now chaired by Jean Hilgers following a controversial renewal of its members. The region's opposition fiercely criticised the "cowboy tactics" used by the Mouvement Réformateur/Les Engagés majority to remove some of its administrators.
“There is nothing illegal about a shareholder—here, the Region—choosing its representatives on a board of directors, especially if those representatives are political,” Walloon Economy Minister Pierre-Yves Jeholet argued during a press conference.
The Region also intends to “maintain strong participation in several sectors,” Jeholet said, adding that the extent of these investments “can be questioned openly and without dogma.”
After addressing these points, Hilgers and the chairman of Wallonie Entreprendre's management committee, Olivier Vanderijst, detailed the new strategy of the regional economic instrument.
Specifically, investments of at least €700 million over five years will target industrialisation or reindustrialisation, particularly in defence, one of Wallonia’s strategic economic sectors.
Additionally, investments of at least €250 million will be directed towards infrastructure projects related to energy production as part of the Walloon energy plan. Along similar lines, decarbonisation actions will be funded in 1,000 companies or healthcare infrastructures.
