Venezuela's Chavez promises to invest 220 bln dlrs in economy

31.01.2009, 05.21

CARACAS, January 31 (Itar-Tass) - Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez has promised to invest 220 billion U.S. dollars in the next four years in the development of industries in Venezuela.

A total of 120 billion U.S. dollars will be invested in the gas industry, he said.

In spite of the global economic crisis, Venezuela will not suspend its development and will eventually turn into an industrialized power thanks to the revolutionary transformations underway now and to the transition over to its authentic Bolivarian model of socialism, Chavez said.

Friday, he signed a decree on setting up a National Metallurgical Corporation and made public the plans to raise the output of melted steel to 7.8 million tons in 2013 and to 15 million tons in 2018 from 4.2 million tons at present.

For this purpose, Venezuelan government is building an ore-dressing factory in cooperation with the Brazilian company Andrade Gutierrez. It will be commissioned at the end of 2011.

This country has proven reserves of 14.7 billion tons of iron ore, which furnish it with a solid basis for developing the steel smelting industry.

Chavez recalled this at an official ceremony dedicated to the re-launch or mining operations on an ore mine in Bolivar State, where production was suspended in 1997, before his arrival to power.

It is expected that China will contribute 70 million U.S. dollars to rehabilitation of the mine.

The ore produced there will be exported to China then, Chavez said.