The Venezuelan government is set to invest over $16.2 billion in building homes for citizens that lack adequate housing, and will give priority to victims of the devastating rainstorms that hit the country in early 2011.

This information was issued Thursday by the vice president for territorial development and coordinator of the Superior Agency of Housing, Rafael Ramírez, during an event in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas.

Ramirez noted that part of the $13.5 billion set aside for building houses in 2011 will be allocated to housing projects this year.

“The revolution is using the funds in advance, they are available. The Simón Bolívar Fund was created for reconstruction and it’s a mechanism that has allowed the builders not to stop working for lack of materials, and the conditions are even better this year for the Housing Mission,” explained Ramirez, who also serves as Venezuela’s minister of energy and oil.

Ramírez noted that the first year of this mission, during which 146,000 houses were built, also served to gather experiences, machinery, supplies, and workers, as well as to develop construction committees to facilitate works.

AVN / Press Office / Venezuelan Embassy to the U.S. / January 20, 2012