The President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, broke ground for the conversion of the Duarte port in Arroyo Barril-Samaná into a cruise terminal, a work to be executed by PDAB Port Investments, Sociedad Gestora S.A., with an investment of US$68 million, and which will be the first infrastructure project in the country to be developed through a public-private partnership contract.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, the President was accompanied by the First Lady, Raquel Arbaje; the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza; the executive director of the General Directorate of Public-Private Partnerships (DGAPP), Sigmund Freund; the executive director of the Dominican Port Authority (Apordom), Jean Luis Rodríguez; the general manager of PDAB Port Investments Sociedad Gestora, S.A., Mauricio Hamui; local authorities and representatives of the business and tourism sectors.
It will become a modern terminal
Referring to the transcendence of Port Samaná Arroyo Barril, Abinader emphasized that the integral transformation of the Port Duarte de Arroyo Barril, will become a modern and functional tourist terminal for international commerce, the reception of cruise ships and tourism in the entire Northeast zone.
“We are projecting an influx of 300,000 passengers during the first year of operations, with an annual growth forecast of between 25% and 30% until its consolidation as a 
destination, at which time we will be receiving more than one million passengers a year. This initiative was born under the protection of the public-private alliance that we have promoted from the government, and which has been a formula of great success in many of the plans and projects promoted by the Dominican State”, affirmed the President.
The head of state thanked the entire sector of the municipality of Santa Bárbara de Samaná and said: “Because the best for the country is yet to come”.
Public-Private Partnership
On his side, the executive director of the DGAPP, pointed out that this is the first time in the history of the RD that the consignment and transformation of a port infrastructure is carried out through a public-private partnership.
“With the conversion of this port into a cruise terminal, through a PPP, we positively mark the way for other projects to be executed with the synergy between private capital and public interest, and the legal guarantee of Law 47-20. Projects that serve to solve demands and needs felt in sectors such as health, road infrastructure, education, urban mobility, among others”, said Freud.
Represents a symbol of progress
Meanwhile, Jean Luis Rodríguez explained that the new cruise terminal in Arroyo Barril represents a symbol of progress, because the infrastructure will not only benefit the country, but will also boost the economic development of Samaná and its surroundings, as it was conceived from the beginning.
“Today we are here to give life to a dream that began a year ago, when President Abinader empowered the first public-private partnership contract between the Dominican Port Authority and PDAB Port Investments Sociedad Gestora, S.A. Transparency has been fundamental in this, awarded through a competitive process to build a terminal capable of receiving the largest cruise ships from around the world, to consolidate the RD as a tourism leader in cruises in the entire Caribbean region,” said Rodriguez.
In addition, Mauricio Hamui spoke about the details of the conversion of the port into a cruise terminal and at the same time said: “Soon Port Samaná will be a port that will give dynamism to the economy and tourism with the arrival of cruise ships of the main shipping lines in the Caribbean. At ITM Group we celebrate being part of the sustainable transformation of this region of the RD to improve the quality of life of its residents, we are committed to the country”.
Source: Arecoa.com
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