El Caribe newspaper reports that government imports crowd the country’s main port, Haina Oriental. The newspaper says that government imports make up 80% of the cargo at Haina. The Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda, a governmental housing agency is responsible for most of the cargo that has overstayed its time at the port. Engineer Juan Vargas of INVI explained the construction materials would be used to build 4,657 dwellings as part of a contract with the MG Group of Miami and INVI. According to the newspaper the cargo is also delaying the renovation works of the port by Haina International Terminals, private operator of the port. The delays in removing the cargo are causing problems to private business given the reduced space now available at the port. One source told the newspaper: “If the merchandise had been consigned to a private company, long time ago it would have been auctioned to cover the costs. Some 5,000 tons of wooden planks and 598 containers with construction materials have been awaiting clearance at the port for more than six months. These imports do not pay taxes. A source told the newspaper that the reason for the delay in the cargo leaving ports is that shipping companies demand payment of US$1.05 million in container usage charges from the state agency to release the containers. El Caribe also reports that vehicles consigned to the governmental Plan Renove also remain at the port, some even starting to rust. Furthermore, El Caribe reporters say that the metal frameworks for the construction of sports installations are also awaiting clearance from the port. The imports were purchased with multi-million dollar loans the government took with foreign commercial banks.