Converting a building into homes for over a decade in Cuba

Ciego de Ávila’s municipal housing directorate has taken more than ten years to convert 23 apartments into an abandoned building, according to a note published by the provincial newspaper.

As mentioned in the Invasor report, the first phase started in November 2018 and ended in December 2019. However, “Four years have passed since all this was written on the poster”.

The building in question is located at kilometer one and it continues to be an unused building. The office space will be used for workers who are still waiting for the final outcome of this long process.

Eddy de la Pera Díaz, an investor at the Municipal Housing Directorate, commented to the aforementioned outlet, “A building with 20 apartments, if they are erected, is done in a year, and it is not at zero, there is no explanation for what happened there.”

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Activists They explained Several factors contributed to the delay, such as the passage of Hurricane Irma and the impact of the pandemic. Also, the building’s job book was lost in a move along with other documents.

“The money is there, housing has approved an investment of about 34 million pesos this year, and all the resources are there, even the bathroom cabinets for that building. There is no difficulty on our part”, Yoel Martínez Ramos, Construction Manager of Construction UEB, removed himself from the responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Mario Orlando Vázquez Alonso, one of the future residents of the building, no longer believes that he will be able to get his house by the end of the year: “I believe it when I see it, because there was a lot. That for a long time, no we still feel benefited. We continue to suffer,” he said.