The second phase of a national project to renovate and beautify Venezuela's barrios will improve the lives of one million Venezuelans, according to President Nicolas Maduro.

Yesterday Maduro announced that from 2 November, plan Barrio Nuevo, Barrio Tricolor will enter its second stage, which will have a greater focus on sustainable development, including urban agriculture.

“We have to transform the cities of consumers into productive cities,” he stated.

Speaking to state media, Maduro said that the second phase of the project will include an eight-point plan. Some of the points extend Barrio Nuevo, Barrio Tricolor beyond the mandate of its first phase, while others are the continuation of previously announced goals.

In his speech, Maduro stated the second phase will place a greater emphasis on consolidation of the communes, and secondly to create a culture of peace.

Thirdly, the programme will continue to promote decent living conditions through the renovation of houses in the barrios, along with providing drinking water, sewerage and electricity. Maduro stated that around 10% of Venezuela's communities still do not have all those basic services, and called on community organisations to continue to engage in the mission.

“A single person can’t do this, we must do it together,” he said.

The fourth and fifth points call for the military to provide greater support, and for better logistical management. The sixth point is to make communities more productive, including through the promotion of urban agriculture.

The final two points call for greater political organisation and the establishment of community assemblies that will be involved in the implementation of the mission.

The second stage will be rolled out nationwide, starting in the Caracas neighbourhoods of El Valle, Santa Rosalia and Coche on Saturday.

The announcement comes just over six months after Maduro relaunched Barrio Nuevo, Barrio Tricolor in April. Since its relaunch, the government pledged to improve 100,000 houses across the country by the end of the year.

The project had first been launched in 2009 by Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez.

“We will not stop until there are no more shanties in Venezuela,” Chavez stated following the launch of the project in August 2009.

During the first phase of the initiative, the government invested Bs2.8 million in 59 projects nationwide.

“We must build a new aesthetic of the revolution,” Maduro stated. 

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