SVG expects first Petro Caribe fuel shipment

The first shipment of fuel under the Petro Caribe agreement should arrive in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines before the end of August.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said this shipment will be delivered to Vinlec’s facility at Bowman’s Bay which ha the “installed capacity for almost 50 percent of the electricity which is produced and what is consumed”.

Dr. Gonsalves said that the fuel under the Petro Caribe arrangement is acquired at “35 percent discount off the top.”

Other areas under agreement with the Venezuelan government include shipments of urea fertilizer, asphalt and 150 prefabricated houses for families affected by the eruption of La Soufriere.

The Prime Minister speaking on NBC Radio on Wednesday, said during his recent trip to Venezuela, he was able to meet with the relevant authorities concerning the 9 million dollar loan from ALBA Bank. Those monies will go towards the redevelopment of Little Tokyo and to augment the Fishing Fleet Program.

On Monday, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Caracas, presented his Letter of Credence to President Nicolas Maduro, thus completing the process of accreditation.

Venezuela’s Ambassador Fransisco Perez Santana told SVG’s API news agency that there are markets for Vincentian products and provisions for Vincentian entrepreneurs who wish to establish businesses in Venezuela. Vincentians can also import a number of goods from Venezuela including construction materials, textiles, auto parts, coffee, lumber, livetock among others.

The Ambassador added that the weekly flights via Conviasa airlines have made travel easier between the two countries and opened the trading route.

By Kawsachun News with information from the Agency for Public Information.