国内英语资讯: Spotlight: China helps Cubas special economic zone fulfill potential_时事

国内英语资讯: Spotlight: China helps Cubas special economic zone fulfill potential

MARIEL, Cuba, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Giant Chinese-built cranes briskly unload shipping containers from cargo ships at Cuba's deep-water port of Mariel, a fledgling special economic zone the country hopes will drive development over the coming years.

China, Cuba's second largest trading partner, is playing a key role in helping the Caribbean island country to make Mariel live up to its promise.

WORLD-CLASS TERMINAL

The Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. (ZPMC), a global leader in port equipment, has provided the Mariel Container Terminal (TCM) with four ship-to-shore gantry cranes (STS), 12 rubber tiered gantry cranes (RTGs) and two rail mounted gantry cranes (RMGs).

As business picks up at Mariel, the company will increase the number of state-of-the-art cranes to 24 STS and 72 RTGs, increasing the unloading capacity from 800,000 containers to 3 million.

As global trade grows, Cuba is betting on its strategically located port to become a hub for companies doing business with the Caribbean, Central America and other parts of Latin America.

The deep-water port is part of Mariel, which also features a duty-free zone and an industrial park with modern facilities and business-friendly tax breaks.

The Cuban government has pledged to guarantee an average investment of 300 U.S. million dollars a year in Mariel, Oscar Perez-Oliva, Mariel's business assessment director, told Xinhua in a recent interview.