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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 11, 1942; 83 years ago (1942-05-11) |
| Preceding agency |
|
| Jurisdiction | executive branch |
| Headquarters | San Juan,Puerto Rico |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent department | Department of Economic Development and Commerce |
| Child agency | |
| Key document | |
| Website | www |
ThePuerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) —Spanish:Compañía de Fomento Industrial de Puerto Rico (or simplyFomento)— is agovernment-owned corporation of Puerto Rico authorized and empowered to attractprivate capital toPuerto Rico to establishtrade,cooperatives, and industrial operations.[1] As its primary function, PRIDCO provides real estate for industrial development.
PRIDCO was created by the government of Puerto Rico in 1942 along with thePuerto Rico Government Development Bank (GDB) during the governorship ofRexford G. Tugwell. Its purpose was to finance the construction and operational management ofindustrial parks where stateside manufacturing companies could find low-rent venues for their operations.
For decades, PRIDCO operated as a subsidiary of thePuerto Rico Economic Development Administration (PREDA); the agency that oversaw the systematic operation which transformed theeconomy of Puerto Rico froman agricultural economy intoan industrial one known asOperation Bootstrap. Bootstrap was the brainchild of PREDA's first administrator,Teodoro Moscoso. Other notable industrialists served in PREDA as well, such asHugo David Storer Tavarez who served as the director of promotion for some years, andWilliam Riefkohl who served as its deputy administrator from 1988 to 1992.[2][3]
As PREDA continued to transform Puerto Rico, PRIDCO eventually became an independent agency. A government reorganization eventually merged PREDA into PRIDCO, establishing PRIDCO as the focal agency for all manufacturing in Puerto Rico while PREDA ceased to exist.
The agency is also now under the umbrella of theDepartment of Economic Development and Commerce of Puerto Rico (DDEC), anexecutive department.
In 2019, the agency was tasked with creating a database of business owners who are veterans of theUnited States military with a mandate to adhere to a law that requires supporting and helping veteran business owners.[4]
Along with the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture, in 2019, the organization discussed plans to import coffee beans from different locations in order to mix and cultivate new coffee plants in Puerto Rico.[5]
In August, 2019 employees of PRIDCO protested against the direction ofPROMESA, the non-elected board working on restructuring Puerto Rico's debt. PRIDCO employees demanded more transparency and more consideration for the work PRIDCO has been doing for decades.[6][7]
In early 2020, the police were investigating the illegal transfer of funds by PRIDCO to overseas accounts.[8]
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