June 15, 2006
Venezuelan congress approves US$48mn in new spending on infrastructure and environmental projects

(BNamericas.com) - "Venezuela's national assembly has approved 127bn bolivares (US$48mn) in spending on six new projects in infrastructure, agriculture and environmental protection, the congress reported on its website.

The most significant of these new programs are two river basin cleanup efforts with a combined cost of 65bn bolivares. One program is for the cleanup of the Yaracuy river basin, the other for the Aroa river baisn.

The Yaracuy program will include the construction of sewerage systems for residents of certain communities within the river basin. Taken together, the two programs will directly create more than 6,000 jobs, according to the assembly press release.

The legislature also approved the spending of 24bn bolivares for repairs to the L002 highway in the Cojedes province. The highway is the main land access to the Orinoco-Apure river corridor.

Finally, the national government will spend 5bn bolivares to remove sediment from the Piloto del Rio Acarigua canal in Portuguesa province. The money will be granted to Desarrollos Hidraulicos Cojedes, the regional authority that operates the canal".