Editing Badajoz (section)

==Economy==
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| image1            = Estudio Lamela CajaBadajoz.jpg
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| caption1          = Caja Badajoz HQ (2017).
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| caption2          = Base General Menacho-Botoa-Badajoz.
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Historically, frequent wars ravaged Badajoz's economy and people were poor. Agricultural land was not fertile with no industry of any major importance in its territory. However, the historic monuments in the town and also in Mérida were major attractions to visitors, leading to the growth of tourism, and in recent years there has been some industrial development.{{Sfn|Ring|Salkin|La Boda|1995|p=74}}

Badajoz primarily is now a commercial city, ranked 25th place in economic importance in Spain according to Spain's Economic Yearbook for 2007, published by Servicio de Estudios de La Caixa. Because of its location, the city shares a considerable transit trade with Portugal. The service sector is dominant in the city. The main shopping street is Menacho, where most national and international chains are located. The Centro Comercial Abierto Menacho is the largest outdoor shopping centre in Extremadura which has had several hundred thousand euros invested into it, and it is visited by thousands of Portuguese a year.<ref name="Hacienda2008">{{cite book|title=Información comercial española: Boletín ICE económico|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bn0nAQAAIAAJ|access-date=9 July 2013|year=2008|publisher=Ministerio de Economía|page=270|language=es|archive-date=May 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514072518/https://books.google.com/books?id=bn0nAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Notable industries include manufacturing of linen, woollen and leather goods, hats, pottery, and soap.{{sfn|Knight|1854|p=461}} Trade thrives on customers from the province and Portugal. Because of the importance of such trading relations with the neighboring country, in 2006, a new trade fair venue, Institución Ferial de Badajoz (IFEBA) was established in the suburbs near the bank of the Caia River. An economic and cultural centre, it has a wide range of markets from fish and various food stalls to health shops,"<ref name="PF">{{cite web|url=http://www.portalferias.com/ferias-espana-ifeba-institucion-ferial-de-badajoz/p1;r36/|title=Ferias en España en IFEBA Institución Ferial de Badajoz|publisher=Portalferias.com|access-date=9 July 2013|archive-date=August 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826030250/http://www.portalferias.com/ferias-espana-ifeba-institucion-ferial-de-badajoz/p1;r36/|url-status=usurped}}</ref> The Old Town area has been affected by this trade fair but is slowly recovering, with the opening of new stores.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.feriabadajoz.net/|title=Inicio|publisher=Feria Badajoz|access-date=9 July 2013|language=es|archive-date=July 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130711045738/http://www.feriabadajoz.net/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city's industrial land on the western side of the river is concentrated almost entirely in a large industrial estate, El Nevero, located next to the A-5 (one of the six radial roads in Spain with numbers A-1-A-6), which is continually expanding, with a diversity of companies operating there. There are also other industrial estates in the suburbs and small businesses in neighborhoods like San Roque. In summer 2007, the project to build the new 38&nbsp;million euro headquarters of the Caja de Badajoz was made public,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elperiodicoextremadura.com/noticias/badajoz/caja-badajoz-construye-edificio-mas-alto-de-extremadura-para-su-sede-social_313356.html|title=Caja Badajoz construye el edificio más alto de Extremadura para su sede social|publisher=Elperiodicoextremadura.com|date=9 July 2007|access-date=9 July 2013|language=es|archive-date=April 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405005651/http://www.elperiodicoextremadura.com/noticias/badajoz/caja-badajoz-construye-edificio-mas-alto-de-extremadura-para-su-sede-social_313356.html|url-status=live}}</ref> which began to be built in October 2008 and is currently in use. The [[Torre Caja Badajoz]] is a financial centre that has a building height of {{convert|88|m}} with 17 floors, now the tallest building in Extremadura.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://portal.cajabadajoz.es/Informaci%C3%B3n%20Corporativa/Noticias%20Caja%20Badajoz/Nueva%20sede%20corporativa%20de%20la%20Caja%20de%20Badajoz:%20Empezaron%20las%20obras/|title=Nueva Sede Corporativa de la Caja de Badajoz|publisher=Portal.cajabadajoz.es|date=18 November 2007|access-date=9 July 2013|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612193644/http://portal.cajabadajoz.es/Informaci%C3%B3n%20Corporativa/Noticias%20Caja%20Badajoz/Nueva%20sede%20corporativa%20de%20la%20Caja%20de%20Badajoz:%20Empezaron%20las%20obras/|archive-date=June 12, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The city also has an airport, located {{convert|14|km}} from the town centre, expanded in 2009 and a conference centre.<ref name=Leisure>{{cite web|url=http://www.lusiberia.com/|title=Lusiberia|publisher=Lusiberia.com|access-date=9 July 2013|archive-date=July 3, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703053741/http://www.lusiberia.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>