{"id":247312,"date":"2021-12-23T10:15:05","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T15:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=247312"},"modified":"2021-12-23T10:15:05","modified_gmt":"2021-12-23T15:15:05","slug":"the-cement-problem-and-the-housing-program-in-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/the-cement-problem-and-the-housing-program-in-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"The cement problem and the housing program in Cuba"},"content":{"rendered":"

Until mid-October, when he left his job as a mason at the new cement factory in Nuevitas, Omar had barely worked to cover his lodging expenses and accumulate a few hundred pesos a month. Between the intermittent input of materials and the mismatches in the pay scales, it had long been difficult for him to balance his accounts. So one day he decided to leave, as did many others before him.<\/span><\/p>\n

He now waits for the beginning of 2022 to join a construction brigade in C\u00e1rdenas, where according to what he has been assured, there is no shortage of work and the salary is several times higher than his last payroll. \u201cThat is a \u2018prioritized investment\u2019 only in name, every so often they had to ask us to stretch the materials to finish a work or they would delay the completion date again. These are situations that you cannot deal with if your salary is dependent on pay for results. To a relative who asked me about the factory, I told him: \u2018If you are going to go into a construction, don\u2019t wait for the Nuevitas cement, that is going to delay,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first works in the Camag\u00fcey enclave date back to 2018, when the Cement Business Group <\/span>got the green light for a recovery program<\/span><\/a> that hoped to replace the old 26 de Julio plant, along with those in Santiago de Cuba and Siguaney, with new industries. In a second moment, until 2025, the improvements would reach the rest of the cement enterprises on the island.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, the investment has not reached the Sancti Sp\u00edritus industry, which continues to <\/span>produce at rates<\/span><\/a> that do not exceed a tenth of its design capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>estimates by Minister of Construction<\/span><\/a> Ren\u00e9 Mesa Villafa\u00f1a, the Cuban cement industry will close 2021 with its worst records in more than six decades. Its plan, which was 560,000 tons and already supposed a fall of almost 50% compared to the meager production of 2020, will be breached by at least 83,000 tons, according to the official. But as soon as next year a dramatic recovery could be expected.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cuba registra una reducci\u00f3n interanual del 26% en viviendas terminadas durante el 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n