The Minister of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development, Beatriz Uribe Botero, ratified a bill that will allocate $42 million (COP75 billion) towards the rebuilding of houses affected by the rainy season in the northern Uraba region of the Antioquia department.
“Six thousand five hundred houses will be attended that were affected by the phenomenon La Niña from 2010 – 2011,” said the minister who reported that the municipalities of Apartado, Mutata and the coastal municipality of Necocli will be included in the housing reconstruction aid.
The government plans to build 1,900 homes in the municipality of Turbo, 400 of which will reportedly be constructed for banana farmers who had crops damaged by the harsh rains and the remaining 1,500 built for displaced families.
The northern Uraba region borders Panama and includes land area in the departments of Antioquia, Choco and Cordoba. The region is in the heart of banana country and relies heavily on production of the crop to sustain its economy.
At a May 16 meeting of AUGURA, the Association of Banana Growers of Colombia, producers said that aside from areas devastated by flooding, the entire banana growing region of Uraba was saturated with water, causing a 16% reduction in production of the crop.