Cuba opens PSA-run Mariel megaport

[MARIEL, Cuba] Cuba has officially opened its new Mariel "megaport", hoping that the project would put it on the map as a regional shipping hub despite scant foreign investment and the US economic embargo.

Leading the ceremony were Cuban president Raul Castro and his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff, whose country provided technical and financial help for the port's construction in the joint project.

Only the first 700 metres of what is slated to be a 2,400-metre wharf were inaugurated, with hopes that the project - when completed - would welcome one million containers per year.