Business & Economy

Inputs and equipment which are currently delivered to Cuban farmers at subsidized prices will begin to be sold “at market prices without subsidies”, said Vice President Marino Murillo Jorge before the Council of Ministers on Friday.

“Cuban homes waste an estimated 22% of the water supply,” said the president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources. He said that this is due to the deterioration of the domestic pipes, the poor condition of the plumbing fittings, and spills that are generated from elevated or underground tanks.

The Russian company Zarubezhneft and CubaPetróleo agreed to postpone until 2014 their offshore drilling program. Since December 2012, Zarubezhneft has executed drilling in an exploratory well in Block L of Cuba’s offshore platform, with no success thus far.

Cuban authorities ruled out today widespread Internet access to homes on the island, despite the expansion of public infrastructure. “It is foreseen that [someday] Cubans may have a connection at home, but the initial priority is for public access,” at government cybercafés, said Cuban Vice Minister of Communications, Wilfredo Gonzalez Vidal.

The Cuban government announced today that it will expand the supply of public Internet access on the island. The authorities said they will open 118 cybercafes across the country starting on June 4, reported dpa news on Tuesday.

Cuban authorities have detected many problems in Havana involving vulnerabilities of the city to heavy rains, Granma newspaper reported.

The Cuban government authorized on Monday the entry to the island of high consumption electrical equipment such as air conditioners, microwave ovens and cookers, after placing a ban on such appliances back in 2005.

Cuban Vice President Marino Murillo told an expanded meeting of the Council of Ministers on Friday that a wholesale market has been established for farm products in the Havana municipality of Boyeros and that both private and and state company buyers will have access.