Mariel, Cuba
| Mariel | |
|---|---|
| Municipality | |
View of Mariel and Mariel Bay
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.png) Mariel municipality (red) within Artemisa Province (yellow) and Cuba |
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| Coordinates: 22°59′37″N 82°45′14″W / 22.99361°N 82.75389°WCoordinates: 22°59′37″N 82°45′14″W / 22.99361°N 82.75389°W | |
| Country |
 Cuba
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| Province | Artemisa |
| Area | |
| • Total | 269 km2 (104 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 42,504 |
| • Density | 158.0/km2 (409/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| Area code(s) | +53-7 |
| Climate | Am |
Mariel is a municipality and town in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. It is located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of the city of Havana.
The town is situated on the south-east side of the Mariel Bay. The villages of La Boca, Henequen, Mojica, Quiebra Hacha, Cabañas are the major settlements that conform the municipality of Mariel, Cuba.
Agustin Parla, born in Key West on October 11, 1887, of Cuban parents exiled during the struggle for Cuban's independence, was the first man to fly 119 miles (192 km) over the sea from Key West, Florida to El Mariel, Cuba, on May 19, 1913.
The port of Mariel is the nearest port to the United States. In 1980, some 125,000 Cubans left Mariel and went to the United States in what is known as the Mariel boatlift. While many reached the USA, several died while traveling through the ocean. Those involved became known as "Marielitos".
In 2004, the municipality of Mariel had a population of 42,504. With a total area of 269 km2 (104 sq mi), it has a population density of 158.0/km2 (409/sq mi).
On the east side of the bay are a port, cement works and a power station, which contribute to very high levels of environmental contamination. On the west side of the bay is a former submarine base, later designated as a free trade zone.
Following an agreement reached in 2009 between the governments of Brazil and Cuba, the Brazilian engineering group Grupo Odebrecht built a new port, including a major container terminal, in partnership with the Cuban company "Zona de Desarrollo Integral de Mariel", a subsidiary of the Cuban military controlled Almacenes Universal S.A. This project would have received an agreement from the Brazilian government to subsidize it up to US$800 million, out of which $300 million would have been already appropriated.
The port has been dredged to 18 m (60 ft), enabling it to be used by Super-panamax vessels.
Various Cuban and international media (such as Reuters) have reported that the future Port of Mariel would be designed to have an initial 700 metres (770 yards) of berth length, enabling it to receive simultaneously two large ocean vessels. Plans through 2022 call for Mariel to house logistics facilities for offshore oil exploration and development, the new container terminal, general cargo, bulk and refrigerated handling and storage facilities and a Special Economic Development Zone for light manufacturing and storage. The new Mariel Port can handle deeper vessels than Havana Bay, where a tunnel under the channel restricts depths to 11 metres (36 feet). The Mariel container terminal would have an annual capacity of 850,000 to 1 million containers, compared with Havana's 350,000. These developments should enable Mariel to accommodate the very large container ships which will transit from Asia through the Panama Canal once the enlargement of the latter is completed in the summer of 2014.
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Wikipedia