CAMAGÜEY .- Authorities in this province have taken steps to expand production of construction materials, key to repairing hurricane damage to housing as quickly as possible.

The central effort is directed toward supporting producers in Esmeralda, Sierra de Cubitas, Minas, and Nuevitas, municipalities where damage to housing stock was the greatest, especially in neighborhoods and rural areas where dwellings were in poor condition prior to the storm.

"This is about getting production of materials for walls, floors, and roofs closer to places where the situation is critical - be it manual if necessary, for which we need the active participation of the population," explained Luis Sixto Mora, vice president of the Provincial Assembly of People's Power.

Rogelio López Estévez, a producer in the provincial capital said that he was ready and willing to redouble efforts, adding a second shift to take full advantage of machinery, if there is a stable supply of sand and cement.

This issue is the responsibility of the leading enterprises in the industry, as is the quality certification of finished products.

Sixto Mora noted that the recovery effort is being conducted under exceptional circumstances and it is imperative to carefully control the distribution of resources, to ensure their proper use.

Provincial authorities have established special offices in the areas most affected by Hurricane Irma, along the province's northern coast, to process applications for subsidies and other paperwork, in addition to extra sales outlets to distribute construction materials.