The Venezuelan government appointed new management and renewed investment in the state-owned conglomerate Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) and its subsidiaries, in efforts to raise production in Venezuela's industrial sector.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced on Sunday the expropriation of Siderúrgica del Turbio (Sidetur), a major producer of steel used in the construction of homes, bridges, and other infrastructure and public works. The president also announced government interventions in several large housing developments.
This week the Venezuelan government nationalized a gas compression plant in the eastern state of Monagas and five prominent steel and iron briquette companies as part of its two year-old national development plan to integrate the country's strategic industries under state control. President Hugo Chávez said the nationalized companies should gradually be placed under worker control.
