Cuba plans to build three water treatment plants and 255 km of sewage network this year to protect the Almendares River, the principal waterway in the island's capital. The project has financial support from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Just 60 percent of the 2.2 million residents of Havana have sanitation services and a large portion of the household waste from the remaining population ends up in the Almendares.

The river as at the heart of the Metropolitan Park, a 700-hectare space that holds Havana's botanical gardens and the national zoo.