From our Bureau of Capitalist Cooperation With Deadbeat Repressive Socialist Military Juntas
Not much of a surprise here. Castro, Inc. lacks the resources and know-how to deal with the corpse of the Hotel Saratoga, which — like most of Havana — is in a state of imminent collapse. And it seems obvious by now that none of its sugar daddies are willing to get involved or foot the bill. So, it makes sense that it would seek help from capitalist foreign experts.
Castro, Inc. is planning to “stabilize” rather than completely demolish the structure. Whether that ends up happening is anyone’s guess.
But you can be sure the French contractor who will partner up with Castro, Inc. will encounter many surprises and infinite frustration, and, as a bonus, sustain huge financial losses. Castro, Inc. will never pay it for whatever work the French do for them.
Meanwhile, all those who lived near the Saratoga whose buildings were affected by the blast are living in temporary housing (whatever that means in Castrogonia) and will remain in suspended in socialist limbo indefinitely.
Abridged from 14yMedio via Translating Cuba
Seven months ago, on the morning of May 6, an explosion rocked central Havana, destroying the Saratoga Hotel. It took the lives of 47 people, most of them hotel employees who were finalizing preparations for its reopening, which had been scheduled for May 10. Several neighbors and passersby were also among those killed.
While not as serious, the damage was anything but minor for those who lost their homes, especially the residents of the adjoining building, or their vehicles, which were parked on the adjoining streets. For them, the ongoing wait seems eternal.
“They haven’t yet settled on a plan for what they’re going to do with the Saratoga. They’re not going to completely demolish it, just what’s necessary to stabilize the structure. The estimated time is eight to ten months,” one of the area residents tells 14ymedio.
[…]
“The demolition, stabilization and construction of the buildings’ concrete structures will be carried out by Almest (a real estate company operated the Cuban Armed Forces) and the Military Construction Union (UCM), together with a French company,” he explained. Although it is not yet known which company that might be, the French firm Bouygues has previously partnered with the state to build twenty-two luxury hotels on the island, including the Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski, which faces Central Park in Old Havana.
Whole story HERE
What happened to Cuba’s world class architectural restoration that has won international awards? Didn’t the late Eusebio Leal Spengler create an agency that is the envy of the world?
Stabilize it? Reconstruct it? Why? It looks good enough to house a least a hundred Cuba families as it is. There would most likely be thousands of people vying for one of those open air apartments. The top open air floor can be made into two stories. These are just Cubans and they don’t really need regular human housing. Just ask an ivy league professor and they will tell you. Cubans don’t care about food or housing. They are just thankful they can live in a socialist paradise.
Oh, but I forget this nice building although built by Cubans is too good for Cubans. Only foreign tourists can stay there because they got that filthy foreign capitalist money that is so coveted by the Cuban government.