Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, on Tuesday signed a law setting out the terms for rebuilding homes, two months after twin earthquakes devastated the country’s north, leaving nearly 18,000 people homeless and 6,509 dead.
Speaking on state television channel VTV, Rodríguez said the law was intended to remove obstacles to reconstruction and “guarantee greater housing availability.”
She said more than 61,000 inspections had been carried out after the two earthquakes and that 11,000 homes were still classified as “high risk.”
Speaking alongside the interim president, Speaker of Parliament Jorge Rodríguez, her brother, said 3,000 new homes were being built in Catia La Mar, in La Guaira state, north of Caracas, one of the hardest-hit areas.
Last Friday, Venezuela's parliament, which is controlled by the ruling party, approved legislation aimed at encouraging new construction.
Under the law, property developers must provide detailed building schedules, while heavy fines will be imposed if they fail to meet contractual obligations or comply with safety requirements.
On 14 July, Jorge Rodríguez said 25,000 homes would be needed to rehouse people displaced by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck Venezuela’s coastline on 24 June.
In July, President Rodríguez pledged that about 4,000 homes would be built by December.
So far, 335 new homes have been delivered and 1,000 damaged properties have been restored.
