Oblivious to the hurricane and the victims, the French company Bouygues continues building hotels in Holguín

Havana/While the Government does not stop blaming the blockade due to the lack of construction materials, and in the middle of a new crisis caused by Hurricane Melissa, which left more than 76,000 homes affected in the east of the country, a huge factory is dedicated exclusively and very discreetly to the production of modules for a hotel complex in Holguín.

The details about the operation of the Antilla Modular Plant were revealed by photographer Juan Pablo Contreras, who assured in a publication on Facebook that the authorities had prohibited state media from investigating the particularities of that gigantic facility, located in an isolated area. “Forget about that plant. What’s more, it doesn’t exist. It was never built,” they told them flatly. They came to find out about its enormous capacity thanks to a video published by Bouygues Bâtiment International, the French company involved in the construction of numerous luxury hotels on the Island, including the Iberostar La Habana de la Torre K or the Grand Packard.

Journalist Abdiel Bermúdez, presenter of the Noticiero, commented on Contreras’ publication: “This is how we walk, as if between heaven and earth there was something hidden, and as if censorship were global. Painful, once again.”

In the video published by Bouygues, it is seen that the factory not only exists and is fully operational, but its magnitude is also considerable. The deputy director of the Ramón de Antilla center, Alden Angulo Roque, highlights in the audiovisual material that there “the future of construction in Cuba is defined.”

Located on the Ramón de Antilla peninsula, the plant manufactures fully equipped luxury rooms, which are then transported by large trucks to the emerging tourist hub. The facility extends over just over nine hectares, with two covered workshops – each measuring 300 linear meters – dedicated to structures and finishes. According to Maylín García Ramírez, deputy director of the plant, the warehouse has a capacity of 6,300 cubic meters. The 448 workers who work in the factory produce 70 complete modules per month, including electrical and plumbing finishes, and deliver them ready to be occupied.

One of the benefited projects is Baracutey, where 576 of the 640 rooms that the hotel will have will be modular. Its managers maintain that, by doing so, they save six months in completing the project.

Some engineers have proposed reusing this industrial infrastructure, precisely, to care for the victims. Yulieta Hernández Díaz, for example, maintains that the Island has “recovery in its hands” if the internal productive mechanisms are activated, bureaucratic procedures are eliminated and the modular technology that is already installed is applied. The engineer adds on your Facebook wall: “The plant is located in the affected area. If the construction of hotels is really going to be stopped and investment is going to be made in the development of the country, this plant can produce all the necessary cores. Importing is not required. Waiting is not required. Deciding is required.”

The designer William Sosa also proposed a project called “Raíz Viva” for the construction of housing modules that, according to their calculations, would be equivalent to barely 10% of the value of a hotel room. With his proposal, in addition, some of “our constructive problems” would be avoided, such as the “diversion of resources.” Curiously, a few days after publishing his proposal, his son wrote on his networks that the designer had been arrested for “disobedience”, although he clarified that his father’s only crime was saying what he thought on the networks.

The most logical thing would be to stop the manufacturing of hotels that, ultimately, remain empty

The question that many repeat when faced with the figures of the disaster caused by Melissa is why in a country like Cuba, where political decisions are supposedly above commercial interests, was the Antilla modular plant not oriented towards the immediate manufacture of homes for the victims?

The question becomes more relevant if we take into account the brutal fall of the number of tourists visiting the Island. Data for the first half of 2025 reveal that only 981,856 visitors were registered throughout the country, 25% less than those who arrived in the same period last year. Given this scenario, the most logical thing would be to stop the manufacturing of hotels that, ultimately, remain empty.

However, the logic of those who make decisions in Cuba does not seem to coincide with the needs of the citizens, despite the recommendations of several prestigious economists. And meanwhile, the Government continues to blame the US “blockade” for being mainly responsible for the dramatic situation in the country and the difficulties in caring for the victims of the hurricane.