http://cubadata.blogspot.com/2010/05/cuba-oks-residential-projects-linked-to.htmlCuba OKs residential projects linked to resorts
By WILL WEISSERT (AP)
HAVANA — Cuba has approved construction of residential projects linked
to resorts, the tourism minister said Tuesday, possibly opening the door
for villas that could one day ring oceanfront golf courses and other
vacation getaways.
Manuel Marrero said the communist-governed island is on pace for its
third straight record year of foreign visitors, and it hopes to continue
expanding into the little-tapped golf market.
He said the government has green-lighted "real estate for tourist
purposes," without giving details. But the move may mean Cuba will allow
tourist developments that include long-term residences — not just hotels
catering to short-term visitors that now line the island's beaches.
Investment firms in Canada and Europe have proposed building golf
courses coupled with luxury housing under long-term leases with Cuba's
government. Endorsing residential zoning for tourism could be a first,
albeit small, step toward making those projects a reality.
The decision would allow Cuba's "entrance into new segments and the
realization of investments in areas with tourism potential that have yet
to be exploited," Marrero said.
The island has only one 18-hole golf course and hopes to build 10 more,
but has yet to break ground on any projects financed by foreigners.
Cuba has tried before to balance its drive for an egalitarian society
with an appeal to foreigners seeking to own a piece of paradise.
Scrambling for revenue in the late 1990s, the government authorized
private foreign ownership of posh apartments in Havana and even signed a
$250 million deal for beachfront apartments and timeshares with a
Canadian company.
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