ViMariel S.A company - the fully foreign-owned firm licensed to operate in the Mariel Special Economic Development Zone Mariel (ZEDM) of Cuba, began operation on Tuesday.

The company, invested by the Viet Nam Glass and Ceramics for Construction Corporation (Viglacera), was established on February 28, 2018.

ViMariel S.A has the right to use 156 hectares in the ZEDM to build an industrial park with full road, telecommunications, water and electricity infrastructure to serve industrial establishments. It will take the firm five years to construct the industrial park from 2019. The firm has a 50 year land lease.

At the launching ceremony, General Director of the ZEDM’s management office Ana Teresa Igarza presented documents related to ViMariel’s formation to Nguyen Anh Tuan, chief representative of Viglacera in Cuba.

Vice General Director of Viglacera Tran Ngoc Anh thanked the Cuban government for its help to Viglacera in the project, and committed to completing the project on schedule, contributing to attracting more investors to the zone.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Nguyen Trung Thanh affirmed ViMariel is a symbol of the commitment of Viglacera and Viet Nam to contributing to updating Cuba’s socio-economic model.

In an interview with Havana-based Vietnam News Agency’s correspondents, Igarza appreciated Viet Nam’s experience in developing industrial park infrastructure, stressing that Cuba hopes ViMariel S.A will help attract foreign investors to the ZEDM - an important resource in the context that Cuba is changing its economic structure.

Tuan said ViMariel S.A plans to lure investment in high-technology, production of construction materials, the electronic industry and others.

In 2016, Viglacera entered into a joint venture partnership with Cuban developer Geicon to manufacture building material in the Caribbean island nation, of which, Viglacera is responsible for upgrading two existing ceramics and sanitary ware plants and investing in two more, four years after the joint venture is operational. — VNS