The structure will allow the repair of Panamax-type ships and was manufactured within 18 months by the Chinese firm National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC), headquartered in Shanghai.

With a cost of 34 million dollars, it is 240 meters long, 48 meters wide, and a lifting capacity of 22,000 tons.

This work allows us to respond to the growing demand of our fleet and at the same time focus on the export of services, said Johannes Milian, general manager of the Cuban shipyards Caribbean Drydock Company (CDC), located in Havana Bay.

Repairs to vessels from other nations will help finance their purchase, Milian said during the delivery ceremony at CDC’s dock.

For his part, Yan Dong, assistant general of CMC, emphasized that the dock will give a great boost to the work in the Cuban shipyard, while predicting greater cooperation between the two companies.

Eighty-five percent of its financing comes from a preferential loan granted by the Chinese government.

(Prensa Latina)

According to the technical description, the essential component of the equipment conceived by engineer Arnoldo Alfredo Martínez Acosta is an electronic device controlled by a computer, which together allow pitchers to train without a catcher, and provide a differentiated characterization of each athlete.

Other advantages of the equipment are ease of programming; use of fewer balls during practice; detailed analysis of each pitch; and testing possibilities to determine if a pitcher is ready to play when scheduled.

The machine controls the catcher’s position within the virtual impact zone, which is digitally recorded along with the speed of the pitch, thus facilitating statistical studies.

This new equipment, in which electronics, mechanics, and computer programming are all involved, features a cushion that absorbs the kinetic energy of balls pitched, which are automatically returned to the pitcher by a transport mechanism.

(Granma)

In a tweet, the President reported that authorities in the Isle of Youth had explained steps taken to maintain stability in the municipality’s economic and social life, despite the fuel shortage.

To check on local government efforts to mitigate the exceptional situation the country is facing, the President and other authorities have also made working visits to the provinces ofSancti Spíritus, Villa Clara, and Cienfuegos.

(Granma)

Engineer Lucía Mayra Rodríguez Rivero, executive vice president of the Cuba-Spain joint venture, noted that in addition to the positive economic and productive results of the plant, with the capacity to produce more than 1,000 hectoliters of fine alcohol a day, the facility completes a productive cycle in the sugar industry, taking advantage of a byproduct of the refining process as raw material.

Alficsa Plus S.A. has emerged as a paradigm in the generation of productive chains and close industrial cycles, not only using a sugar byproduct as its fundamental raw material, but also producing substances itself that are used in the production of torula yeast for animal feed and carbon dioxide for beverages.

Rodríguez reported that contracts with Havana Club Internacional rum makers, and the perfume company Suchel Camacho, have already been signed, and that the factory will serve as the main supplier of raw material for these entities for the foreseeable future.

Given the plant’s capacity, in addition to supplying the domestic market, several agreements have been established to provide spirits of excellent quality to customers in the Caribbean and Latin America.

(Granma)

The focus of rigorous supervision by national and provincial leaders since the beginning of its construction, the brand new plant is taking its first steps to accomplish a critical objective: ensuring the supply of fertilizer required by Cuban agriculture, and thus replacing costly imports.

The total investment to erect and equip the plant, with a production capacity of 55 tons of fertilizer per hour, was 41 million pesos. The largest portion was allocated by the Cuban state, while an amount exceeding four million dollars was contributed by India.

The NPK has an annual production capacity of 300,000 tons of mixed fertilizers of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K), necessary soil elements that allow plants to build tissue, grow and develop in all phases of their productive cycle, thus increasing yields.

Satish Gh Maurya, one of the Indian specialists who participated in the assembly of machinery, pointed out that this is the first plant in Cuba on which experts from his country have worked. They provided their services, taking great interest in the project, he noted, adding that the Cuban team was very receptive and collaborative.

The first stage of the NPK project involves the plant’s basic operations core, which will allow for productive levels to meet the requirements of Cuban agriculture for 2019, 2020 and part of 2021, explained Mario Valmaseda, director of the in Cuba Chemical Enterprise (Equifa).

(Granma)

He said that, after this stage, demand is projected to increase and, by that time, the second phase should be completed, which includes the construction of warehouses for the high volume of raw material that will be needed.

Equifa deputy director Fidel Rivero added that this second stage will include, along with the three warehouses for raw materials, roads and protection systems, to be completed by 2020.For the remainder of 2019, production of 79,300 tons is planned, and the plant is responsible for guaranteeing 70% of the fertilizer needed during the cold season planting period, which will favor food production in the fourth quarter of the year and early 2020.

NPK Cienfuegos will save the country 25% of the expense currently required to import ammonium sulfate, diammonium phosphate, phosphorus, and potassium chloride, since zeolite – the base component for mixed fertilizers – is of national production, from the Ranchuelo and Villa Clara deposits, said Joel Vale, a project specialist.

(Granma)

Raúl Díaz Guadarrama, general director of the entity affiliated with the Ministry of Transportation, told Granma that, over the last three years, financial and material resources have been made available to restore the highway.

“So far the critical problems are located on stretches in Cienfuegos and Mayabeque, where, through the first part of the year, there were occasional interruptions in the work due to a shortage of asphalt, however, the time lost has been recuperated,” the director stated.

Among maintenance and investment projects on the country’s network of roads and highways, prioritized are those that guarantee the tourist development, followed by others such as the Mariel Special Development Zone, the National Highway, the Central Highway, and Vía Blanca.

Toward this end, among the center’s main objectives for 2020 is to increase the amount of asphalt destined for the Central Highway, focusing on critical sections that pose a risk of accidents.

Another major difficulty involves determinng responsibility for road and street repair.

In this sense, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has insisted that the repair of municipal roads must be assumed by each territory and alternative solutions for local development must be sought due to limitations on the availability of equipment.Díaz Guadarrama pointed out that there are 5,862 bridges in the country, with 304 in poor condition, of which 100 are scheduled for repair. Efforts will depend on the availability of equipment and specialized work crews, he said. According to the Director of the National Road Center, airport runways are the first priority in allocating asphalt, basically the José Martí in Havana and Abel Santamaría in Villa Clara.

(Granma)

During a Provincial Administration Council meeting, examined were the status of supplies needed for the 2019-2020 winter planting season, local self-sufficiency efforts to produce 30 pounds per capita of food and vegetables, and the production of meat, cassava, boniato, and taro; as well as progress in meeting projections for milk, fresh produce shipments to the capital, and the production of corn for animal feed.

According to the Presidential website, Valdés Mesa, emphasized the importance of the contracting process as a strategic means to achieve greater discipline and control, with a view toward signing agreements with 100% of producers.He stressed the importance of rehabilitating liquid feed plants and advancing in the production of corn, cassava, and boniato for the population’s consumption and animal feed, with emphasis on improving yields.During a tour of areas under cultivation, the First Vice President asked about working conditions and the results of different productive formats, in the province that sends almost 80% of its productions to the capital.

(Granma)

During the meeting, chaired by Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, the importance of tourism as a driving force in the Cuban economy was emphasized.

The President said that everything this sector brings to the country in economic and social matters should not be overlooked, in addition to being a bridge to the world, since every tourist visiting the country is breaking the U.S. blockade. “That’s why we must defend it, that’s why we must make it more efficient,” he stated, as reported on the Presidency’s website.

With First Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa and Mercedes López Acea, Party Political Bureau member, also on hand, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, reported that 2,081 hotel rooms were completed this year, through the end of June, to reach a total of 72,965 across the country. By the end of 2019, the incorporation of another 4,197 is planned – 97% of which are in 26 new hotels, while the remaining 3% represent expansions.Referring to real estate development projections, the Minister pointed out that 13 new projects are planned, along with seven recreational projects, with special emphasis on those that have been conceived in the context of Havana’s 500th anniversary.Regarding the non-state tourism program, Marrero reported that 27,814 self-employed workers are licensed in this arena, including 17,805 homeowners authorized to operate in the CUC market, offering 26,224 rooms.

(Granma)

The vital importance of applying science and technology in national industry investments, to ensure present and future progress, was reiterated by the President of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, during meetings to review the implementation of the national packaging and industrial development plans.

Once again, the President insisted on the necessity of strengthening collaboration between industry, universities, and research centers.

During the meeting, Comandante de la Revolución Ramiro Valdés Menéndez and the ministers of Industry and Food Industry, Alfredo López and Iris Quiñones, respectively, participated to analyze progress made on the directives emphasized by the President in previous reviews.

Among the issues evaluated in the context of the packaging policy was the comprehensive proposal to strengthen the national center dedicated to these productions, as well as the investment plan with a view to gradually replacing containers for products exported that are now imported, as explained on the Presidential website.

The magnitude of the task is made clear by the fact that the 480 exportable items identified require 2,782 types of packaging, of which 1,642 are made in Cuba and 1,140 imported.It was reported that in the last five years investments for more than 170 million pesos were made in the packaging industry, especially in plants based on the use of paper, plastic, and wood. The perspective through 2025 is to allocate an additional 280 million pesos.Notable growth in the reuse of glass, plastic, and metal containers was noted, and Díaz-Canel highlighted efforts made to learn about international trends in packaging, which have included exchanges between foreign experts and students at the José Antonio Echevarría University of Technology and the Industrial Design Institute.

The Presidency tweeted the Head of State visitied a company involved in projects related to protein plants.

On Wednesday, Diaz-Canel advocated for developing research to achieve technological sovereignty after a tour of the Camaguey Provincial Meteorological Center and the National Radar Center.

The President checked the operation of the national observation network through those equipment.

Diaz-Canel also toured the Cultisur entity of Santa Cruz del Sur where he learned the steps taken with respect to the basic structures to facilitate productive progress in food industry.

There, he obtained details on import substitution, fostering of local enhancement, innovation, computerization, links with the university and difficulties in the territory.

During his travels to Cuban provinces, the Head of State stresses essential tasks for the country such as housing construction, food production, and construction materials.

He insists that the country has two priorities: preparation for defense and economic development.

He also restates the need to materialize the productive chain with tourism and other sectors, boosting a sustainable local development.

In his opinion, local development produces an increase in wages, an improvement in the local living standard of the population and fosters food sovereignty.

Since he took office, Diaz-Canel has stressed that the strategy is to work tirelessly with alternatives already designed, without abandoning the objectives set in terms of greater welfare for the people.

(Prensa Latina)