The Dominican government has embarked on a plan to promote a strategy to improve airport infrastructure throughout the country.
As part of this project, an agreement was recently reached with Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo XXI (Aerodom) and VINCI Airports to renegotiate and extend the concession contract for the six airports that the French company manages in the DR.
In addition, the strategy is being promoted in order to adapt the infrastructure to the new requirements of the airport sector. Thus, on November 30, the bidding process for the Cabo Rojo Airport, Pedernales, began through the Directorate of Public-Private Partnerships (DGAPP). The airport will serve the southern region of the country and, especially, the development of tourism in Cabo Rojo, where an initial investment of US$ 1.3 billion will be made.
Likewise, the Osvaldo Virgil Domestic Airport, in the province of Montecristi, is the site of a major public investment plan as part of the project to rescue and rehabilitate the airport terminals. The works being developed, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Works, consist of the resurfacing of the runway, which measures 1,230 meters by 22 meters wide, since it had not been touched for 15 years.
In a second stage, the works also contemplate the construction of a more modern terminal to accommodate both national and foreign pilots, according to a press release.
Also, President Luis Abinader started, last September, the construction works of a new airport, El Granero del Sur, with a commercial focus in the area of San Juan de la Maguana. It is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2024. The infrastructure will provide fumigation and agricultural technification services, include general aviation facilities, and offer tourists the province’s natural heritage.
In parallel, the Government is working on the creation of new heliports in different areas of the country. The evaluation of several plots of land for the construction of three new heliports in the East and Northeast regions of the country has begun, as part of the project to expand and optimize the National Heliport Network (RNH).
The evaluated lands are located in the vicinity of Esmeralda beach, in Miches, El Seibo province; in the municipality of Cabrera, María Trinidad Sánchez province, and on the islet of Cayo Levantado, in Samaná province.
Source: Arecoa.com
