Container manufacturing projects under spotlight for approval

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 7 (ACN) In an effort to cut costly imports, the Cuban Industry Ministry is evaluating the approval of two foreign-investment projects in the manufacture of glass and aluminum containers in the Special Development Zone at the western Mariel Harbor.

Juana Herrera, an official in the sector told the Cuban News Agency that they are also negotiating an accord to produce metal covers for containers of liqueurs and soft drinks.
Having a local container industry is crucial given the increase of the demand for such products in the face of the growing number of foreign visitors in Cuba, said Herrera, who recalled that the country imports containers worth 300 million dollars a year, particularly for the food industry.
Since March 2014, when the new Cuban Foreign Investment Law was passed, and up to last November a total of 15 new projects were agreed to, along with 14 reinvestment initiatives, all in the Mariel Harbor, and another 54 projects out of that zone, which makes a total of 83 businesses valued at over 1.3 billion dollars.