Venezuelan president says to build new homes in cooperation with Chinese companies

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Saturday the government will work with Chinese companies to build new housing units as part of an ambitious plan to provide homes for those without proper or adequate dwelling in the country.

During an event in the 23 de Enero slum in the west of Caracas, Maduro announced that his government has reached a preliminary agreement with Chinese company Sany Heavy Industry Co. for the latter to participate in the "Great Housing Mission" that aims to build three million homes in the Latin American country by 2019.

The government will sign a contract with Sany, the world's sixth largest heavy machinery company, to import new equipment so as to accelerate the construction of at least 400,000 new apartments this year.

"We are going at a faster pace and we have to install Chinese companies here in our country to double everything that we are bringing over from China," Maduro said.

The Venezuelan leader said that over 220 new cranes imported from China were already in use for the renovation of residential buildings in poor areas of the country, under a program called "Barrio Nuevo, Barrio Tricolor."

According to Ricardo Molina, Venezuela's minister of housing, Chinese companies have helped build over 14,000 homes in the country in the last three years and 15,000 more are now under construction. Endi