It is reported that the statue, 2.2 meters high and weighing about 330 kg, is a bronze depiction showing Chavez in military fatigues, beret, and presidential sash, his right hand on his chest and his left hand raised.

Sculptor Manuel Suescun, who was commissioned to make the piece, is completing a clay model and then a bronze casting, expected to take about a month.

In May, Russia gave Venezuela a Chavez bust, which has been placed in the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas.

Late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez passed away at the age of 58 following a two-year fight against cancer./.

CPV