Venezuela to Invest $261m in Boats
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez authorized the Navy Commander Vice-admiral Benigno Remigio Calvo to enter into a $261m trade agreement with Spanish firm Rodman Polyships for joint construction of 66 boats and purchase of construction material for other 40 units to be manufactured in Venezuela, reports said. The second stage of this project is expected to be implemented in the Navy Unit of Careen Services. According to the Official Gazette dated June 11, the operation is taking place under a strategic alliance entered into on October 16, 2005 in Vigo, Spain. However, in April 2006, Navy Commander Vice-admiral Armando Laguna Laguna told reporters they would purchase a lower number of boats.Laguna Laguna claimed they would buy 18 fiber glass fast-speed boats (24 for the Navy and 24 for the National Guard), in order to reinforce patrolling and fight drug traffic in Venezuela. Half the ships would be built by Rodman, and the other half would be manufactured in Venezuelan shipyards for $261m. Source: el Universal