| Puerto Ordaz | |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 9, 1952 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | José Ramón López |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,930 km2 (745.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 600.000 |
| • Demonym | guayanes |
| Time zone | VST (UTC-4:30) |
| • Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC-4:30) |
| Area code(s) | 0286 |
Puerto Ordaz is a planned city which, together with the older settlement of San Felix, forms Ciudad Guayana in Bolívar State, eastern Venezuela. Puerto Ordaz is located at the confluence of the Caroní and Orinoco Rivers[1] and is the site of the Llovizna Falls. There are bridges across the Caroni and a new bridge across the Orinoco (Second Orinoco crossing). It is one of Venezuela's largest cities and is the base for large iron and steelworks and aluminium industries. The city has a large hydroelectric power plant, Macagua Dam.
Due to its planned nature, the city has a drastically different feel to it than many other South American cities. The towers of the Alta Vista district recall New York, and many of the residential neighborhoods have architecture and landscaping that are similar to suburbs in the United States in the 1950s, including 'cookie cutter' homes, sidewalks, and patterned lawns.
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Many of Venezuela's prime industries are based in Puerto Ordaz. These include Alcasa, Venalum, Bauxilum, Carbonorca (primary aluminium manufacturers and anode suppliers for the aluminium industry), Ferrominera (iron ore processing), and Ternium Sidor (Orinoco Steelmaking). The country's main electricity producer, Edelca, and the regional development office, CVG (Corporación Venezolana de Guayana), are also located in Puerto Ordaz..
The port of Puerto Ordaz in a combination of piers (muelles), all under the control of CVG, of which only one is considered for public use. The others are directly related to the CVG production companies in principal all aluminium related, approximately 9 piers in total. One of the most frequently used piers is Ferrominera at the mouth of the Caroni river. Another is Ternium Sidor (recently nationalised into a CVG company, and the only steel works) at mile 197.
In Puerto Ordaz is located the electricity industry of Caroní (Edelca) which manage several of the hydroelectric centrals over the Caroní river: Macagua I and II and Caruachi, all of the 3 located on the urban side of Ciudad Guayana. Edelca also built and administers Guri (currently the world's second biggest dam, in terms of the capacity of hydroelectric generation) and gave origin to the Guri reservoir, the second biggest lake in Venezuela. Puerto Ordaz is also the only city in the world with a hydroelectric dam in the middle of the city. Both the city, Puerto Ordaz, and Venezuela use some of the hydroelectric power from Guri Dam.
Puerto Ordaz is conformated by Caroní Municipality. Venezuelan law specifies that municipal governments have four main functions: executive, legislative, comptroller, and planning. The executive function is managed by the mayor, who is in charge of representing the municipality's administration. The legislative branch is represented by the Municipal Council, composed of seven councillors, charged with the deliberation of new decrees and local laws. The comptroller tasks are managed by the municipal comptroller's office, which oversees accountancy. Finally, planning is represented by the Local Public Planning Council, which manages development projects for the municipality.
Puerto Ordaz is crisscrossed from north to south and east to west by numerous avenues. Some of them are:
On December 3, 2006, the Orinokia bridge, which crosses the Orinoco river, was inaugurated.
In Puerto Ordaz the principal recreation centers are:
Puerto Ordaz is also well known for having one of the best engineering schools in Latin America. The main universities are:
Regional hubs:
Puerto Ordaz is headquarter of colleges like:
Technical Institutes
Inside the city both the Llovizna and Cachamay Parks are located displaying their picturesque waterfalls. Other local attractions are the Caroní Ecomuseum located at the Macagua Dam. Near the city from the Angosturita bridge to the San Félix port the union of the Caroní and Orinoco rivers can be seen; the different colors of the water of both rivers make a very distinct demarcation line. Taking Puerto Ordaz as a starting point, the Orinoco Delta can be visited as well as Canaima's National Park and Guri's reservoirs. Other points of interest are the colonial castles at the Orinoco riverside and the "Cerro del Elefante" (Elephant's hill) which can be reached in a 4x4 vehicle. The Castles of Guayana are located at the right side of the Orinoco River, about 35 kilometers from San Félix.