Foreseeing a boating boom, Cuba hurries to expand marinas

On the heels of the announcement that a Key-West-to-Havana speedboat rally will be held this week, the Cuban organization dealing with marinas and boating, Marlin S.A., is appealing for foreign investment in the construction of new marinas and the expansion of several existing ones.

The Cuban News Agency quotes Ramiro Mas Camacho, Marlin’s  business director, as saying that seven such projects have been approved and that three of them will be opened to bids in the next several months.

Mas Camacho told ACN that several offers from foreign investors have been received for the expansion of the Tarará boat basin east of Havana so that it may host 250 vessels.

The international marina Dársena de Varadero will also be expanded, Mas said, without providing details. At the Santa Lucía basin in Camagüey province, a golf course will be laid out and guest accommodations will be built nearby.

Contracts for these projects should be completed by the end of this year, the official said. And contracts for the improvement of services at the Marlin Marina in Santiago de Cuba are under discussion.

In addition, the creation of a marina and related real estate in Banes Bay, in the resort area of Guardalavaca (Holguín province), is being promoted, Mas said.

At present the Marlin Group is negotiating with a German firm a contract for the expansion of the marina at Cienfuegos, a plan that could include the construction of “theme parks and hotels.”

Marlin S.A. operates five tourist marinas, seven nautical bases and 22 diving centers throughout the island nation.