Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Venezuela received 1,800 prefabricated homes from China on Saturday, October 31, to assist families affected by the June 24 double earthquake. The shipment also included 87 heavy machinery units to support cleanup efforts in La Guaira, the region hardest hit by the earthquakes.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced the arrival and thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for the humanitarian support.
“I thank President Xi Jinping, his government, and the people of China for this very important aid, which is a demonstration of the cooperation between our countries,” she said in a video conference while supervising via satellite link the arrival of the equipment at Puerto Cabello, Carabobo state.
Homes to help families that were in temporary camps
Rodríguez said that the 1,800 homes would help families move out of temporary camps and into safe, private, single-family housing.
“Now the families can move to a place, a safe space, a single-family space, with privacy,” she said in the video conference.
She explained that the homes would provide shelter to the people who lost their homes in the earthquake. She thanked China for its solidarity with Venezuela during the reconstruction process.
She also announced the arrival of 5,400 emergency bunk beds and 1,800 electric fans.
During the ceremony, Rodríguez spoke with Chinese Ambassador Lan Hu and asked him to convey the Venezuelan people’s gratitude to President Xi Jinping and his government.
Machinery to speed up debris removal
“We are receiving 87 pieces of heavy machinery that will allow us to move much faster in the process of clearing debris,” Rodríguez said about the heavy machinery aid. She noted that 63% of the earthquake debris has already been cleared.
She expressed her hope that with the arrival of the equipment, La Guaira would be able to welcome the new year completely free of debris.
More than 5,000 tons of equipment and supplies
Venezuelan Public Works Minister Juan José Ramírez reported that more than 5,000 tons of machinery, prefabricated homes, and supplies had arrived at Puerto Cabello from China.
Noting that the shipment had been delivered in record time, Ramírez said that the 1,800 housing units were ready for immediate assembly wherever the necessary infrastructure was available. He added that Venezuela had also received equipment for every stage of the Dignified and Safe Clearance Plan.
Debris collection expected to reach 33,000 tons per day
Ramírez added that the new Chinese equipment would increase debris collection from 21,000 to 33,000 tons per day.
“With the addition of this set of machinery to the forces that we have in the state of La Guaira for the collection and removal of debris, we would be able to incorporate eight or nine fronts of work, which would represent an additional 12,000 tons of collection,” he explained. “If we add that to the 14 fronts that we already have, which represent an average of 21,000 tons per day, we are talking about the collection of 33,000 tons of material per day.”
China-Venezuela friendship
Ambassador Lan reaffirmed China’s friendship with Venezuela. “We are very convinced that, under your leadership and with the participation of all sectors—government, private and public sectors, as well as the international community—Venezuela will be reborn as a much more prosperous country very soon,” Lan said, addressing Acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
In response, Rodríguez said that Venezuela was grateful for the humanitarian aid and the cooperation that China represented in Venezuela’s process of transformation and recovery.
She reiterated her hope that no families would remain in camps by the end of the year. She told Ambassador Lan that China was helping Venezuela achieve “this profoundly humanitarian goal for Venezuelan families.”
“On behalf of Venezuela, thank you very much for this donation, and I know that we will continue to strengthen our bonds of friendship and cooperation, as we have done in recent years. I know that the future between our countries is one of fruitful relations. Thank you, Ambassador Lan Hu, and thank you, the government of China,” the acting president said at the end of the ceremony.
Lan said that the shipment took nearly two months to cross the maritime distance between the two countries. “We are geographically very far apart, our two countries, China and Venezuela, but we are very close in heart,” he said.
The ambassador also highlighted the social impact of the aid. “These are not just cold numbers: they are roofs over the heads of the people, they are hope and strength to rebuild their homes. They are representative of the most sincere friendship of a nation of 1.4 billion people for the sister nation of Venezuela,” Lan said.
China’s aid and Venezuela’s reconstruction plan
China’s support began immediately after the June earthquakes. The first shipment arrived at the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía on July 6, carrying 20 electric generators, eight water-purification vehicles, 200 disinfection machines, 200 solar lighting systems, more than 1,700 tents, and 6,700 blankets.
The Chinese assistance also includes a $17 million package: $2 million for the housing plan and $15 million for supplies and materials. Separately, the Red Cross Society of China donated $300,000 to the Venezuelan Red Cross to purchase medical supplies.
Chinese community members in Venezuela also volunteered to support rescue teams and distribute essential goods in shelters, as reported by Telesur.
The president of the Venezuelan government’s Venezuela Reborn plan, Jacqueline Faría recently reported that repairs have been carried out at more than 21,000 houses and that 3,503 permanent housing solutions had been delivered.
Delcy Rodríguez has declared that the government’s priority is to ensure that, by the end of the year, families living in temporary camps receive either a financed home or a single-family temporary housing unit.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/SC
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