• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 09 / 19 / 2011

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English.news.cn.2011-09-19 11:48:07. HAVANA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Cuban leader Raul Castro Sunday supervised the ongoing expansion program of the Mariel port, a main port of Cuba with Brazil's investment, local media reported.

"The expansion work has an extraordinary economic importance," said Castro after inspecting the port, some 50 km west of Havana.

Castro said the investment on Mariel, besides upgrading the operation levels of the port, will provide Cuba with an important facility for a long time in the special development zone which covers more than 400 square km.

The Brazilian investment, about 500 million U.S. dollars, is from an international association formed by companies from Brazil and Cuba, to guarantee a project which includes the building of a 700-meter-long dock for deepwater ships with some 15 meters draft, as well as a large system of highways and modern railways that lead to the port.

The expansion work of Mariel port started in February 2010 as the current port of Havana is not deep enough to allow the entry of large vessels, and will be finished in 2014.Editor: Chen Zhi

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-09/19/c_131146634.htm