Cuban Leaders Eye New Port As Economic Lifeline

By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle: World
Sun, 11/10/2013 - 11:05pm

The island nation's Communist authorities have high hopes that Mariel could become a strategic economic center — especially if the U.S. lifts its 51-year-old embargo and starts sending container ships south. Plans to overhaul the Port of Mariel began in 2009 when officials determined the country's main harbor in Havana is too shallow for bigger, deeper-draft "post-Panamax" vessels, which starting in 2015 will begin crossing through an expanded Panama Canal and carry an increasing share of regional cargo. During a recent visit by The Associated Press, orange-clad, helmeted workers in the port zone were building what looked like a large warehouse while trucks arrived loaded with construction materials. Simply swapping one port for another, however, won't be enough to right Cuba's rickety economy, which relies heavily on food and other imports while making most of its foreign income from tourism, nickel mining and the export of services such as tens of thousands of medical professionals. Authorities hope to attract foreign firms to invest and set up shop in the development zone, with a priority on industries such as food, biotech, renewable energy, packaging and telecommunications. At the port presentation at the Havana Trade Fair, some attendees expressed skepticism about rules prohibiting foreign companies from hiring employees directly, instead forcing them to contract with workers through a state-run employment agency.

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