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The Cuban regime presented the first urban development project featuring modular homes built from shipping containers in Havana, located in the Toledo community, Marianao municipality, on a 114,000 square meter site corresponding to the former bus terminal area of the municipality, near CUJAE.
According to the profile of Facebook Gobierno Cuba, the modular housing project in Marianao includes two phases of 40 containers each, for a total of 80 living modules. The urbanization process for the area began in November 2025, and according to the official schedule, by the end of this month, the first 10 containers are expected to be fully habitable, with another 10 to be completed by the end of June.
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz conducted a check-up visit to the project and spoke with the workers. He showed interest in the utilization of the interior space and the electrical and hydraulic connection systems, and emphasized the need to "inject vitality into the Toledo community."
Carlos Quesada Borge, director of the company Producciones Metálicas de La Habana, explained that "fundamental elements such as thermal insulation have been taken into account in the construction, which is essential to ensure the comfort of future residents."
Each module will include two bedrooms, a kitchen-dining area, a bathroom, and a small service patio with a laundry area. The housing is primarily intended for sheltered individuals, social cases, young graduates from care homes, and single mothers with multiple children.
The settlement will also feature a playground, sports area, food sales shops, and an agricultural market managed by the UBPC "La Victoria." The electric company has already installed the transformers, and in the future, there are plans to install solar panels on the roofs.
This project is the first urban planning initiative designed with containers in the capital city of Havana, and it is part of a national program promoted by the government since mid-2025. In December of that year, the transformation of more than 3,500 shipping containers into housing for municipalities in Havana and other provinces was announced.
However, the government itself acknowledged in November 2025 the failure of the housing program, despite having released more than 1,700 containers for that purpose. The official housing deficit exceeds 929,000 homes, and 35% of the stock of approximately 4.1 million units is in poor or fair condition.
The criticisms of the model are significant. Cubans on social media nicknamed the project "the Microwave" due to the extreme heat that the metal structures accumulate in a tropical country with power outages lasting more than 20 hours a day. Additionally, the beneficiaries must pay nearly a million pesos per unit, an amount equivalent to more than ten years of the average Cuban salary.
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