Sunday, August 2, 2009

Hugo Chavez in Dominica to unveil $35M facility

ROSEAU, Dominica -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez unveiled a $35 million oil-storage facility Saturday in the Caribbean island of Dominica, a day after he met with regional leaders about his Petrocaribe program.

Chavez said the complex that Venezuela helped build will store 35,000 barrels of diesel, jet fuel and cooking gas.

The Petrocaribe program, which Dominica participates in, was created in 2005 to supply fuel to allies under preferential terms.

"Dominica will no longer have to concern itself about the supply of gasoline and oil,'' he told a cheering crowd. "All the oil Dominica will need for the next 200 years will be right there in Venezuela.''

People wearing red T-shirts in support of Chavez lined the streets for about two miles (three kilometers) as he made his way from the airport to the facility.

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit promised to supply free cooking gas to poor people, but he did not provide details.

The storage complex is located near the capital of Roseau and is named ''Waitukubuli,'' the Carib Indian name for Dominica.

Chavez said he also will help fund a coffee-processing plant in the tiny Caribbean island and set up a local branch of a leftist Latin American trade group.

Source: Associated Press

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