HAVANA, March 13. /TASS/: New automatic grain unloader has begun operating in the Cuban port of Havana; this new installation will allow Cuba to reduce docking time for cargo ships and compensate for loss of capacity after last year’s tornado. Russia and the UAE, in cooperation with the UN World Food Programme, assisted in implementation of this project.
The launch ceremony was attended by Sergei Reshchikov, the Russian minister counsellor in Cuba, UAE ambassador Bader Almatrooshi, and World Food Programme representative Paolo Mattei.
"The issue of support to humanitarian and socio-economic initiatives, implemented on the Island of Freedom, resonates with the Russian Federation. Cuba is one of Russia’s main economic partners in Latin America and the Caribbean," the Russian diplomat said.
The new equipment will allow Cuba to cut expenses on grain ship anchorage, which might take up to $12,000 per day, and reduce unloading time.
In late January last year, a Tornado damaged some 1,200 residential buildings, tearing off more than 200 roofs and cutting more than 220,000 people off electricity. At least seven died, according to reports.
