Originally posted by Wikinews. Wikinews content appears under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license except where specified. As these articles are static snapshots of news items that may be later updated, they may not represent the latest or final revision of that article, and posted information may be only preliminary. Venezuela opens granite processing facility in Bolívar ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- February 18, 2013 Original URL: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Venezuela_opens_granite_processing_facility_in_Bol%C3%ADvar Venezuela's government has opened a granite processing plant in the state of Bolívar, with the intention of providing about 25% of the granite required nationwide. Ricardo Menéndez, vice president of the Productive Economic Area, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has yearned for the creation of this project to empower Venezuelan construction. Granito Bolívar is reportedly the most modern Venezuelan granite plant, not consuming community water or electricity, and is also the largest, with a daily capacity to supply enough material for use in construction of about 820 houses. Menéndez said, . According to Menéndez, with the help of a state plan, Venezuela intends to exploit its 40,000 million cubic meters or more of granite reserves, generating a set of factories. . For the construction of the plant, supplied by 23 quarries, the government of Bolívar provided about 30 million bolívares (US$4.7 million) and the national government €2.3 million (US$3 million). Bolívar reportedly has reserves of about 40,000 million tons of red, black, pink and white granite, sufficient for domestic demand for 200 years. == Sources == * http://www.vtv.gob.ve/articulos/2013/02/15/gobierno-inauguro-moderna-planta-para-el-procesamiento-de-granito-en-bolivar-4420.html  * http://www.prensa-latina.cu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&idioma=1&id=1117451&Itemid=1  .