Pretoria - South African Public Works Minister, Thulas Nxesi, has said that his country will benefit greatly from the program of the Cuban Technical Advisers.

During the official reception held last night in Pretoria to 37 new coming engineers from the island, Nxesi stated that the three-year program would allow the Caribbean professionals to convey their experience and skills to the South Africans.

The group (which should be increased to 39) will operate in several departments of public works and municipalities, where they will offer technical advice in construction projects, its management and quality control.

The engineers, specializing in civil and mechanical engineering, will work specifically in the provinces of Gauteng (in Pretoria), Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Free State and Northern Cape.

More than 600 Cuban collaborators are currently working in South Africa in virtue of a cooperation program that began two decades ago with the arrival of the first doctors to this nation, thanks to an initiative by the leaders, Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela.