El Universal quoted Mr Juan Francisco Jiménez president of Venezuelan Construction Chamber as saying that if current trend continues, the construction index of new houses by the private sector would soon hit zero or almost zero.

The Venezuelan developer added that the legal harassment faced by the construction sector, along with the lack of construction materials such as cement and rebars, are seriously reducing the participation of private developers.

Mr Jiménez said that "Houses that have been completed are included in developments that started two or three years ago. The index of new private housing projects has decreased, while the number of housing projects that have been halted increased exponentially."

(Sourced from www.eluniversal.com)