He explained that the service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Varadero, Cuba, is scheduled to begin on
Sunday November 13, while the Havana service for December 12 and the TampaInternational Airport, is subject to conditions of approval from the government of Cuba.

In a statement, he said that it is expected that service details for Santa Clara, Cuba, are disclosed in the coming weeks.

(NOTIMEX)

The first involves a Saudi loan to finance a project in the city of Cárdenas to rehabilitate the water supply and treatment system. The Development Fund will provide a long term advance of 120 million Saudi riyals (29.1 million USD) annually to construct a new main conduit and distribution networks to allow the distribution of potable water throughout the city located in the province of Matanzas.

The new water infrastructure is linked to a secure source and will contribute to maintaining a sanitary supply to the city, as well as improve storm drainage, according to the document signed in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment’s Havana headquarters.

Cuba’ has the experienced technical personnel to complete the work, but needs financial support for the acquisition of materials, equipment, components, and spare parts for heavy vehicles, the document notes.

Malmierca reported that also planned are the construction of a storm sewer system and a waste water treatment plant.

“Cuba’s collaboration with the Fund began in 2010; the signing of these accords testifies to the will of both parties to continue with the economic collaboration,” he added.

The other agreement signed July 21 addressed the provision of credit for Cuba to import Saudi products.

This will be done via the Development Fund’s Saudi Exports Program, which will facilitate the acquisition of approximately 50 million dollars worth of goods.

The Saudi director, Al-Ghannam, for his part said that the agreements signed are meant to consolidate commercial and financial cooperation between the two countries, and reaffirmed the Development Fund’s intention of strengthening relations with Cuba.

The loan agreement is the fourth signed by the Saudi Fund and the third linked to the development of water supply infrastructure in Cuba, while the commercial credit agreement is the first of its kind.

Also attending the signing ceremony were Cuba’s ambassador in Saudi Arabia, Enrique Enríquez, and the Saudi chargé d’affaires in Havana, Abdulkareen M. A. Helal.

(Granma)

Julio González remembers well the beginnings of the plant. Aged just 17, he decided to undertake an operators training course and became one of the plant’s first workers.

“We started out with 101 young people, under the guidance of specialists from the former Soviet Union. We trained for a year and a half, we even practiced at plants in the capital,” he explains.

PUTTING KNOWLEDGE INTO PRACTICE

Julio is one of the three founding workers who remain at the plant. Over the past 26 years he has worked as a dynamic and diagnostic analysis specialist. He has always been driven and has completed two engineering degrees while at the plant.

“I’ve spent a lifetime in this place…I love what I do, despite so many years of work,” Julio, about to celebrate his 70th birthday, notes.

Five years ago he retired and has since been employed on a contract basis. “As long as my health and faculties allow me, I will continue working,” he says. Over the years, Julio has contributed to the training of many of the plant’s workers.

Training has also been essential for the young Yosvel Tartabull, who serves as an electrical protection specialist. He started out as a maintenance technician and a year ago became an electrical engineer. He is now focused on a master’s degree.

PREPARATION IS THE KEY

According to Roberto Manuel Pigueiras, the plant’s technical director, works began in 2012 on the plant’s power unit Block No.7, which underwent maintenance works over two years.

Since the end of 2012, the Máximo Gómez thermoelectric power plant has been immersed in an extensive maintenance process. Photo: Otoniel Márquez
Pigueiras notes that the secret to the process is good preparation, to ensure that power units are non-operational for the shortest time possible.

The works continued on Block No.5, due to be completed within the next two years, including an automatic system. Block No.8 followed, and the modernization works here were completed in record time, including a new combustion system, just as was the case with Block No.7.

As such, these three power units have recovered their maximum generation capacity of 90 megawatts (MW) each.

The results have been encouraging. For example, last year Block No.5 saw record generation of 590 gigawatts (GW) and by May, Block No. 8 had seen total generation of 64.8 GW, something a machine of this capacity had never before achieved at the plant.

Enterprises of the National Electrical Union and the Ministry of Construction have participated in the maintenance works.

LOOKING AHEAD

Máximo Gómez has assumed a new challenge. Workers are currently preparing for an investment project for Block No. 6, currently in the study phase and awaiting basic engineering approval. The project will be undertaken with a Slovak firm. “It will be the most complex project to be implemented up to 2020, as these are not major repairs, but a total renovation of the unit,” Pigueiras explains.

About a year ago, demolition of Block No. 6 began and civil works are scheduled to commence early next year.

Accreditation of the plant’s Metrology Laboratory is also planned for this year, which has seen investment of over half a million CUC. Meanwhile, in January 2017 a water treatment plant, to improve the quality of water discharged into the bay of Mariel, is scheduled to arrive in the country.

A new agreement with Russia will also see the installation of a 200 MW power unit. Workers are already preparing for the project and the implementation process should be completed in 2023.

In addition to thermal power generation, the plant also uses motor-generators which currently provide 110.4 MW.

Next year will see further investment, with maintenance of 36,000 working hours on seven of these motors, in order to improve efficiency.

All this as part of the efforts to ensure ongoing and increasingly efficient energy provision on the island.

(Granma)

This is the first bilateral agreement reached between the two parties; however, the document will be officially ratified after both sides have completed their respective consultation processes.

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, currently visiting the city, described the date as a historic day for bilateral relations.

The draft agreement was signed by the heads of the negotiating teams, Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Abelardo Moreno and Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Global Issues at the European External Action Service, Christian Leffler.

The signing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Havana, in the presence of Mogherini and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, in an act also attended by the ambassadors of EU member countries to Cuba.

Mogherini highlighted that the agreement will contribute to ending the “common position” against Cuba, which can only be lifted by the European Council.

She added that on her return to Brussels she would propose the European Council initiate “parallel” discussions regarding the issue, in order to bring the process to a timely conclusion. The EU official noted that she couldn’t give exact dates, but that the delegation will work quickly and in tandem with the consultation process for the official signing and ratification of the agreement.

She also expressed the willingness of her team to reach a final accord as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister, Abelardo Moreno, explained that the agreement includes a preface of a political character, which reaffirms respect for Cuba’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

He highlighted that the main aim of the agreement is to strengthen relations between Cuba and the regional bloc, which includes a chapter addressing political dialogue, another on cooperation and sector policies, and a third relating to trade.

(Granma)

While Bacardi was born in Cuba, it has been based in Bermuda since abandoning the island in 1959. With most Cuban products banned from being sold in the US, Bacardi has marketed a Puerto Rico-made rum under the Havana Club name.

The decision by the USPTO will allow Cuba export to register the brand in the US, after January 27 when the current 10 year brand registration period finishes. The company has already applied to register the brand from 2016 to 2026, according to Olivier Cavil, a spokesperson from France’s Pernod Ricard.

Pernod Ricard and Cuba export jointly own the Havana Club international company. However, Bacardi is still waited for a ruling by the Columbia district court, where it is also contesting the rights to the Havana Club brand in the US. When asked about the impact of the USPTO decision, Cavil said “it is not highly significant… as the embargo remains in place.” Cuban products are still banned from the US due to the economic blockade in force since 1962.

(Xinhua)