"Están bienvenidos" one woman tells CGTN on the streets of Figueruelas in Zaragoza, northeastern Spain. It means "They are welcome" and refers to the 2,000 Chinese experts set to arrive to help build the CATL-Stellantis electric vehicle (EV) battery plant a five-minute drive away.

With a population of 1,000 people, Figueruelas will thus triple its population for the duration of building work.

This 4.5 billion-dollar investment is a boon for the town and will be built alongside the global carmaking giant Stellantis plant that's been there for decades.

It was 1982 when General Motors installed the factory next to Figuerelas and the town has helped build five generations of Opel Corsas and Peugeot 208's among other cars.

Stellantis, which owns Opel, Peugeot and 12 other car brands, is building the new gigafactory as part of a joint-venture with CATL - the Chinese-owned EV battery maker, the largest in the world.

But what do people in the town think?

Many streets were empty and the local bar was quiet in this sleepy town when CGTN went to visit but we were lucky to meet Miguel Angel Julvez who worked in the plant for almost 40 years. 

"It's great news for the town, any investment is welcome, and particularly when it creates jobs," said Julvez, out walking with his grandson Aritz.

Four thousand jobs will be created, according to the regional Aragon government, amid a plan for a million EV batteries a year to be rolling off the production lines by 2028. 

The plant will bring many indirect opportunities too.

"We're delighted," says Esperanza Calvo Gonzalez at the real estate agency Garlan Group in Zaragoza, half an hour from Figueruelas.

"It's really positive for Zaragoza and the entire Aragon region," she continued, "we're run off our feet, working hard, because of course, the Chinese workers are coming and now countless companies see big opportunities, they want to build, they want to promote, they want to buy, so it's been a bit crazy with all the inquiries about the zone."

So is Gonzalez practising her Chinese? "Ni Hao!" she says, laughing.

One of the problems is housing in Figueruelas. There simply isn't enough to meet demand and local people see a big opportunity.

CGTN met Jesus López on a plot of family land that he wants to see developed for housing. 

"A number of neighbours with a little bit of land have come together, we're ready to sell so they can develop, build houses and people can come and live here, like the Chinese workers who are about to come," he says. "We even have plans for the project ready to go."

How did Spain and the Aragon region win the huge CATL-Stellantis gigafactory investment?

According to Javier Martinez, Director General of Economic Policy, Aragon Autonomous Community: "First of all because the Stellantis plant that already exists here is highly efficient at a European level.

"Another reason is that we have a lot of land. Aragon is 10 percent of Spain but has a small population, so we have space."

"We also have a lot of sun and wind, 89 percent of the energy we produce is renewable energy, and that was important for CATL."

"Then of course the good relations between China and Spain, and particularly between China and Aragon were important, it's a very fluid relationship."

This gigafactory may just be the beginning as Spanish authorities aim to make the country a European EV production hub with low energy prices and other costs compared with the rest of the continent.

The arrival of this battery plant in Zaragoza could attract an entire car industry eco-system, says Martinez, as it makes sense to build or assemble the cars where the batteries are being made.

Spain's good relationship with China could lead to more direct investment too, with the country in the running for a brand new BYD EV mega factory that may be announced before the end of this year.

More good news for Figueruelas?

When CGTN asks Miguel Angel Julvez's grandson Aritz what he thinks about the future, he cries. After all, he's still in a pushchair! But his grandad answered positively on his behalf. 

The investment is more than welcome, to keep a job for him in the future."