The solution extends across several provinces despite the challenges of inhabiting steel structures under the Caribbean climate
14ymedio, Havana, 2 January 2025 — Four news stories published this Friday in Cuba’s official media, each different but all on the same topic, make it clear how the government plans to address the housing crisis, primarily caused by a lack of resources: by converting recycled shipping containers into homes. This solution, already being implemented in provinces such as Sancti Spíritus, Las Tunas, and Guantánamo, appears to be more than just a localized measure and is being extended across the entire island.
In this last phase, 70 container-homes are currently being manufactured : as Venceremos lists, 15 in the Buenavista settlement of San Antonio del Sur; 20 in the Cabaña Mariana community of Guantánamo; and 35 in the area near the airport in Imías. All of them, the newspaper emphasizes, “are intended for families affected by total collapses caused by Hurricanes Oscar and Melissa, as well as by the intense rains of September.”
The program, the provincial newspaper notes, “is part of the state housing investment plan and stems from the repurposing of shipping containers used to import solar panels for photovoltaic parks. Once their logistical function is fulfilled, these metal structures become available, and it was therefore proposed to use them as an alternative housing project with technical and regulatory support at the national level.”
It is a project that is also “advancing” in Sancti Spíritus, where a total of 105 homes are planned. Escambray reported, this Friday, that in that province all municipalities have “the required documentation,” foundation work has begun in three of them, and 164 containers “have been released,” of which 50 have been delivered to the Ministry of the Armed Forces for recycling, and 38 to workshops of other state agencies.
These houses made from shipping containers will be between 32 and 70 square meters.
In Santa Clara, the local development project (PDL) Reluxes Herrerías is assisting in this effort, according to the newspaper Venceremos. The project is about to unveil an experimental prototype, begun last November and based on a design from the Ministry of Construction, to which it is closely linked. Mario Eduardo Valdivia Beyra, coordinator of the PDL—whose stated purpose is to retail basic hardware products but which has also focused extensively on repairing state-owned property, such as bathroom fixtures and garbage collection bins — said that they are prepared to deliver ten homes per quarter during 2026, “although the number could be subject to specific supply issues.” He added that they have a skilled workforce of 42 employees to achieve this.
He also announced that after the final approval of the prototype, they will begin large-scale implementation. He indicated that Reluxes Herrerías is responsible for the metalworking, while the Construction and Assembly Company will handle the site selection.
These container homes will range in size from 32 to 70 square meters (344 sq. ft. to 753 sq. ft.), he reported, and will have “several rooms, including a kitchen, bathroom, dining room and two bedrooms with closets, as well as doors and windows that will provide greater ventilation.”
The technology, he acknowledged, “is expensive,” although he assured that they have “a number of resources available to reduce costs and continue the project with the support of other economic actors.” The official also alluded to the biggest concern raised by Cubans regarding this type of housing: how to withstand the heat in a steel structure that was not designed to house people but to transport goods. Steel, specialists explain, has good weather resistance, but it conducts both heat and cold, so to be converted into a dwelling, it needs a durable insulation system.
“The thermal insulation lining the interior walls ensures a comfortable temperature, and the roof is placed above the container,” said Valdivia Beyra, who did not specify the price or the exact type of insulation material to be used. Instead, he guaranteed: “The homes will be of high quality and finish, so that the families who will live in them will have the minimum necessary conditions.”
In Matanzas, Girón announced, 132 of the 142 shipping containers that previously transported equipment and materials for the Chinese photovoltaic parks currently under construction in the province will be converted into homes. The state-run newspaper acknowledges that this is “a novel and unexpected alternative in Matanzas,” but notes that it has already been implemented in several other provinces.
“Before carrying out any action on the construction site or in the factory, several specialists study the behavior of the terrain, where they analyze the conditions of the chosen sites. This includes the accessibility of electricity and drinking water; in the latter case, to determine if it is necessary to create elevated tanks, cisterns, and septic tanks,” according to this Friday’s report from the newspaper.
In this province, the design of these homes is being handled by the Matanzas Architecture and Engineering Projects Company and the Community Architects group. The former is specifically working in the Río San Juan residential area, while the latter is responsible for the rest of the municipalities, including the provincial capital.
Regarding the construction, several firms have been involved since October, including the Varadero Tourism Construction and Assembly Company, the Matanzas Construction and Assembly Company, the Industrial Technical Services Company (Zeti), the Mario Muñoz Sugar Company, the Southern Provincial Maintenance and Construction Company, and the Matanzas Noel Fernández Forming Company, known as the Cube Factory.
Officials promise that these types of houses take only 15 to 20 days to build. The announced structure for these homes is similar to that described for other provinces, and similar caveats are mentioned: “in certain areas, changes may occur.” This can happen, says Girón, because “self-financed companies can develop other models without affecting the state budget, since they have the power to make an investment.”
Regarding the price, the estimated cost per home is 900,000 pesos.
Regarding the locations for these homes, Guillermo López-Calleja Pérez, the official in charge of the Comprehensive Projects Directorate, mentioned an area on San Sebastián Street, where “eight-meter plots will be set aside so that families can gradually continue building.” He clarified that “the best option for this type of project is to use areas with pre-prepared foundations,” meaning state-owned land, “already prefabricated,” such as the site of the meat processing plant in La Jaiba, another of the areas selected for the settlement. Recycled land for recycled houses.
The Matanzas official did specify some of the heat-insulating materials, such as fiberglass, henequen fiber, and bagasse cardboard from Cárdenas, “with 100 sheets available,” he assured. Regarding another understandable concern, the corrosion of the structure due to humidity, Daniel Arencibia, from Community Architects, stated that “waterproof paint will be applied” and a covering will be placed on top, “an element that protects them from the elements and humidity, but also acts as thermal insulation.”
According to Danay Ordúñez García, director of Housing in Guantánamo, these houses are not donations, although they are “state-owned housing with public funding.” This means that “the beneficiary assumes the cost of the container according to the approved budget, while the urbanization and other associated expenses are covered by the State.”
Regarding the price, the estimated cost per home is 900,000 pesos, the official said, adding that the payment mechanism would be established “later with the banking system through negotiation and mutual understanding, following the usual procedures of the housing program.”
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