Mariel Mega-Port Advances at a Snail’s Pace
HAVANA TIMES — “We have approved eight businesses and we have four files on record and others which are in the final stages of review, therefore, the coming months should produce a group of new operations,” says Ana Teresa Igarza, the Director of the Office of the Mariel Special Development Zone.
Igarza adds: “We have approved two Mexican investors: one aimed at the food industry in meat processing (Richmeat of Cuba SA), the other belongs to the chemical industry, a paint factory to produce sealants and additives (Devox Caribbean).
“There are two Cuban companies (Mariel Container Terminal SA and Mariel Logistics Services SA); and a Spanish firm, (Profood Service SA) also in the food industry, which is dedicated to the production of juices, concentrates, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
“We also approved two Belgian projects, one focused on logistics activity (BDC LOG SA) and the other in the electronic industry, to produce industrial temperature sensors, electric boards and automatic programming (BDC TEC SA ).”
The Director of the Office of the Mariel Special Development Zone presents as an achievement that eight companies have been approved since it was created in 2013 and where today only three of them are operational. Undoubtedly the idea of moving forward but without haste has been taken very seriously.
More investment for Mariel ?
Good read here :
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/international-business/article52523890.html
In these matters the mistakes of others can be learned from and prevented as a result. I have seen in my travels the the best result was not by going faster but by going better. Time taken to prevent doing it over is time better spent.Saving time and utilizing what has worked well like the system of Committees is the best way and most efficient too.
Trust is a hard thing too , so trust the friends of the past , they have proven themselves as have your country men. The fair weather friends are likely to disappoint or conspire against the past foe so dont be pushed to go too quickley
and miss what is most important. I am praying for the best outcome and that is not time constrained in my way of seeing things.
Hopefully greed does not take over , we should all join in prayer to that end.
Thank You and God bless the snails pace!
Gordon, why do you insist that traffic through the Canal with bring anything what so ever to Mariel? The only reason any ships with come there is to load and/or unload (preferably both). Cuba doesn’t currently export very much and the lack of purchasing power (money) doesn’t really show favorably on any imports. This is the same Cuban thoughts that “normalization” with the US will bring a boom in tourism and flood the Country with money-any my same argument as before-Cuba will need to compete in the tourist trade-with Florida, Mexico and the whole Caribbean basin. Is Raul going to build a Disney World or hotel resorts that rival Cancun? With what money-do you think Disney or anyone else is going to sink billions of dollars into the island and keep Raul et al as a 51% partner? Unlikely. Cuba is already a one and done destination-many of the tourist from Europe and North America coming now (before the Americans wreck it) are seeing poor facilities, bad food and terrible accommodations. Why do you think people will keep coming to see a third world dump, repression and a failed state? As Venezuela collapses in the next few weeks, can Cuba keep the lights on (no more oil) or even afford the free market oil that will have to be bought with hard currency? Cuba will need heavy investment in infrastructure, water, sewers, rail, roadways and buildings-and that costs lots of money. What happens if Cruz or Rubio become President next year-Obama is VERY unpopular in the US and Obama’s executive actions with Cuba are reversed? Then Cuba has no Russia, No Venezuela, No US and no money- a death spiral, worse than the early ’90s. Those cranes at Mariel will rust into the ground, decision time is coming to Cuba.
The new Panama Canal will be completed this year and this will create a mega boom fo Mariel.
Bravo, well said!
Has it occurred to you that the wicked corporations poised to retake the island are being invited by Raul Castro and facilitated by Barack Obama? The Mariel Port is to be the new Bay of Pigs, but this time the invaders are coming in container ships while the Castro regime will be providing, not soldiers to defend the revolution, by slave labour to sell to the foreign corporations.
About the term, “Batistianos”, like everything else related to the Cuban Revolution, and without offering any evidence, you credit it to Celia Sanchez. Yet the term was already in use in the late 1930’s to describe the circle of officers & politicians around Batista during the series of puppet presidents Batista controlled.
You wrote, “My use of it refers to those I feel harm everyday totally innocent Cubans on the island in the guise of hurting Castro.”
Ironically, that is very close to the excuse the Castro regime gives for their repression of innocent Cubans on the island in the excuse that they threaten Castro. In other words, the true heirs to the Batistiano name & methods, are the Castro’s themselves.
The buy time announcements do little. The people have moved on. Record exodus this year in part is driven by lack of faith future of Castro’s Cuba. Raul has made changes, but needs to go faster.
The word Batistianos was coined, I believe, by Celia Sanchez. She meant anyone aligned with Batista. It has been used frequently by many others. My use of it refers to those I feel harm everyday totally innocent Cubans on the island in the guise of hurting Castro. Other than that, my passion might be, say, Jamaica.
I think you might be right Rich. Just the other day I was at Port Everglads in Ft Lauderdale where I noticed a large group of men in pinstriped suites with matching ties. As I drove further along the road I saw another large group of men in guayaberas. This was obviously a mafioso and Batistano pre-invasion force waiting at the port for the right opportunity to invade Cuba. What gave them away was that they were conducting “military style” drills to tune of a classic Cuban Zarzuela.
Who are these Batistianos you love to talk about? Did you make that word up? My comment was not intended to provoke applause. Shame is the first thought that came to my mind. The Castros should be ashamed.
A port tbat shIps nothing and receives nothing
It figures that Moses would be the first to applaud that lack of progress at Mariel. I’m sure he’s joined by all the Batistianos and Mafiosi who plan to retake the island any day now.
3 companies operational in 3 years?