The Mysterious Hydraulic Work on Havana’s Boyeros Avenue Coincides With the Inauguration of the K Tower

Cubans are skeptical when a construction or restoration goes too fast and too well

Workers engaged in the hydraulic works on Rancho Boyeros Avenue. / 14ymedio

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 12 January 2025 — In the middle of the night on Saturday, with their reflective vests and with a haste that is unusual in Cuba, a team of workers continued to work on the mysterious hydraulic project that is being carried out on Rancho Boyeros Avenue, from Calzada del Cerro to the area near Tulipán Street. The opening of a long trench in the street and the placement of a new, wide pipe have sparked speculation among residents, who have never seen such haste and such new equipment and efficiency put into this type of repairs.

According to the official version, sections of the pipeline that brings water from the Palatino pumping station to Marino Street are being replaced to solve the problems in the upper area of ​​the Plaza de la Revolución municipality, where Nuevo Vedado is located, “benefiting a population of approximately 72,250 inhabitants.” In a brief note, the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources adds that the work will be 2.8 km long and will also improve pressure in the municipality of Cerro.

However, the large and modern resources used in the Boyeros section, together with the speed with which the laying of the pipeline is progressing, have fueled speculation and rumors that point to another, more powerful beneficiary: the K Tower, the tallest building in Cuba and a future luxury hotel that is about to open this January.

According to the official version, sections of the pipeline that brings water from the Palatino pumping station to Marino Street are being replaced. / 14ymedio

Accustomed to the fact that tourism is the only endeavor in which larger investments are made, Cubans are skeptical when a construction or renovation project goes too fast and too well. In 2023, for example, almost a third of investments went to the two areas associated with the tourism sector: business and real estate services and rentals (23.745 billion pesos, almost a billion dollars at the official exchange rate) and hotels and restaurants (8.626 billion pesos or 360 million dollars).

In the three days that the brigade has been working in the area near Nuevo Vedado, including working on the weekend, residents in the area have tried to get the workers to reveal the main reason for installing the new pipeline, but an unusual reticence extends among them as well, further fueling the rumors.

On Saturday night, the secrecy with which the workers of the state-owned company Aguas de La Habana responded to 14ymedio ’s questions reinforces the thesis that the work hides much more than what has been said publicly. “What is known is not asked,” replied an employee in response to questions about whether the so-called López-Calleja Tower — named in reference to the former son-in-law of Raúl Castro, a tourism magnate who died in 2022 — would be the real reason for speeding up the installation of a pipeline in a neighborhood that has been suffering from water supply problems for many years.

Although far from the site, the colossal building is located on 23rd Street in El Vedado, an area that is also supplied by the same Palatino Marino pipeline. Any change in the current section directly influences the flow that reaches the concrete giant that will also house offices and a commercial area. “I have lived in this neighborhood for 30 years and I have never seen a construction project done at night or at such speed,” said a retiree this Friday, as he waited in the queue for the ATM at the Banco Metropolitano on Estancia and Santa Ana streets.

“In my building, it has been years since water pump has been functioning badly, one day on and one day off, so why are they fixing this now, when everyone knows that there is no money for almost anything, that all repair work is practically paralyzed due to lack of resources,” added another customer of the branch who, nevertheless, is glad that “something ends up benefiting this area even though that is not the main reason.”

This Saturday at night, the secrecy with which the workers of the state-owned company Aguas de La Habana responded to the questions of ’14ymedio’ reinforces the thesis that the work hides much more than what has been said publicly / 14ymedio

In other Havana municipalities, the images of Boyeros Avenue are causing a stir. “Here in the Cujae-Toledo area, Marianao, we are still in the same situation. Nobody offers you an answer. No water since the end of the year,” wrote Mario Ernesto González, expressing his annoyance on the provincial government’s Facebook page after the publication of the images of the impeccable machinery, the workers dressed in new uniforms and the gigantic pipe that is being placed on what is also known as the Avenue of the Presidents.

Another Internet user went further and sarcastically summed up the rumors surrounding the repair: “That must be for something that needs a lot of water because it has swimming pools, jacuzzis, showers with high-pressure water, laundries where many sheets, towels and tablecloths need to be washed every day. What could it be? It sounds like the K Tower.” Shortly afterwards, her comment was deleted.

This newspaper had already confirmed the installation of a powerful underground cable system that supplies the high-speed internet that guests of the K Tower will have. / 14ymedio

Before this meteoric work, this newspaper had already confirmed the installation of a powerful underground cable system that supplies the high-speed Internet that will serve guests of the K Tower. Crossing J Street for a section, going down University Hill until passing Zapata Street and crossing the nearby Carlos III Avenue, the installation continued on its way to the vicinity of the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications, where one of the main nodes of access to the network of networks is located.

With these two undertakings, the clients of the luxurious hotel will be able to enjoy two of the services that cause Cubans the most suffering every day due to their instability: the water supply and web browsing.

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