Business & Economy

The newly arriving oil rig, “Songa Mercur,” is now situated in an area to the north of the island and will start up drilling operations “in the next few days” for the Russian energy firm Zarubezhneft, according to reports from the state-owned Cubapetroleo agency.

Cuban President Raul Castro said on Friday that economic reforms on the island are proceeding “steadily” and that these will begin to “delve into issues of broader scope, complexity and depth.”

A few of the communities located in the Viñales National Park, an area of Cuba officially designated as a “world heritage site,” will be illuminated beginning in 2013 with photovoltaic panels supplied as part of a United Nations-sponsored project.

Cuba is ending 2012 with a favorable trade balance and a steady growth in its high value-added export services, said deputy minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Oscar Perez Oliva, when speaking before the Cuban parliament.

The new cooperatives (about 230 in the first phase) will not operate under the control of state enterprises and the prices of their products and services will be determined by market forces.

New studies and projects are underway in Cuba to promote the “social use” of the Internet and to reduce the costs of mobile phone services, said the Minister of Informatics and Communications, Maimir Mesa.

The study “The New Economy of Cuba and the International response” was distributed to the media Monday by the Brookings Institution, a self-described independent American think tank based in Washington, D.C. In the document, researchers allege that Cuban economic model is more harmful than the US blockade of the island.

Starting this week, the Aeroflot Company and other Russian airlines will be able to fly into several cities in Cuba – not just Havana.

Iberia Airline said on Friday it will suspend its flights to Santo Domingo and Havana starting on April 1, 2013, as part of its restructuring plan, reported Reuters.

The Canadian group of experts with Familles d’Aujourd’hui (Families Today) awarded the Intellichoix Prize in the category of “Caribbean Destination Tourism” to Cuba’s Sol Cayo Guillermo Hotel, which is located in the keys to the north of the island.