The Portuguese group Enpromoulds is the first business to set up its plant at the ViMariel Industrial Park, which is located in Cuba’s Mariel Special Development Zone.

Enpromoulds’ member unit Ecoplast has gained a permit to operate in the industrial park for 25 years, producing paper, plastic and rubber moulds.

The industrial park is now under construction. It was inaugurated in November last year by the Vietnamese multi-sector group Viglacera.

The construction is expected to complete in five years from the inauguration day and companies present at the park may operate for 50 years.

The ViMariel Industrial Park is also Cuba’s first project handed over to a fully-owned foreign firm at the Mariel Special Development Zone, which is designed to be the Caribbean economy’s leading economic region.

After six years of operation, the Mariel Special Development Zone has attracted $2.2 billion worth of investment from companies in Spain, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, China, France, Germany and Vietnam.

Vietnam is Cuba’s second largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific, and their trade is diverse, Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung said in September. Last year, bilateral trade between the two countries increased by 25 per cent to $335 million.

VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK