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Housing

While the Government builds hotels, the housing plan in Cuba closed out 2021 achieved only 42% of the target set

The national program for the construction of homes and municipal self-sufficiency continues with delays, the authorities concede.

La Habana
Two Cubans work on the construction of a house.
Two Cubans work on the construction of a house. GRANMA

At a meeting held via videoconference from the Palace of the Revolution in the capital, and headed by Miguel Díaz-Canel, it was announced that the national program for the construction of homes in Cuba had only completed 42% of what was slated for 2021.

According to a local television report, quoted by the regime's Prensa Latina, the provinces with the worst stats were Holguín, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Guantánamo and Camagüey, while 101 municipalities were behind schedule.

The construction of 38,000 homes is forecast for this year, far below the needs of the Cuban population.

According to officials, the process will assign priority to those people who lost their homes due to weather conditions and mothers with three or more children, or those in precarious situations. In Cuba victims of hurricanes years ago are still waiting for a solution to their cases.

Economy and Planning Minister Alejandro Gil said that what is planned for the current year is a challenge that requires a lot of organization, and insisted on the importance of "following up on the program for the production of construction materials."

In about six years some 12,500 luxury rooms were built on the island for tourists, despite the debacle in the sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the precarious housing situation on the island.

At the end of May 2021 there were more than 49,000 homes affected by meteorological events in the country, of which 3,321 had partially collapsed. In the same period, 11,378 unfinished homes from previous years were reported, of which more than half correspond to the period from 2012 to 2019.

The situation is further aggravated by limitations in cement production, which reached only 59% and 43% in 2019 and 2020, respectively. In addition, the Government's own studies indicate that the island is among the four countries with the highest prices for construction services.

Another issue that contributes to the deterioration of the housing available, according to officials, is non-compliance with the housing maintenance plan in recent years.

Construction companies are not profitable either, especially after the "Ordering Task." At the end of August of this year 30 entities reported losses due to the aforementioned policy, the scarcity of resources, and production plans that have not been met.

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