The project will create more than 10 thousand jobs, positioning the Dominican Republic as one of the leaders in international trade and foreign investment.
The logistics solutions provider DP World and Punta Cana Free Trade Zone (PCFTZ), a Puntacana Group company, signed a joint investment agreement for the development of a Logistics Center to create a multimodal platform for the handling of air, land and sea cargo.
With an investment of approximately US$200 million, the Punta Cana Free Trade Zone will house cargo logistics operations and offices for the development of the Punta Cana Hub for the innovation and development of Fintech companies, including an experienced company dedicated to aircraft maintenance and repair (MRO).
The project, with an area of 546,617.45 m2 of land, will contribute to the sustained economic growth of the area, creating more than 10,000 jobs and positioning Punta Cana and the Dominican Republic as one of the leaders in trade and foreign investment at the international level.
“This strategic alliance solidifies the Dominican Republic’s position as the most important trade and logistics HUB for air and sea cargo in the Caribbean. The Logistics Center will benefit from DP World’s extensive experience and world-class standards for handling logistics operations and multimodal cargo, as well as the high connectivity of the Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), representing the international leadership of both companies in the logistics and airport sector, respectively,” a press release stated.
The agreement was signed by Frank Elías Rainieri, president of the Punta Cana Free Trade Zone and the Puntacana Group, and Morten Johansen, CEO of DP World in the Dominican Republic.
The agreement, according to the press release, initiates the deployment of an intense regional trade strategy to attract a greater volume of re-export and import cargo to and from the main global markets.
Likewise, the project promises to generate greater investments and increase the demand for logistics labor, triggering a greater dynamization of the economy in a non-traditional and rapidly growing industry in the country.
“Free Trade Zone allows us to continue contributing to the increase of the country’s competitiveness and to place the Dominican Republic on the world map as an air cargo HUB. Our objective with this project is to form alliances to increase connectivity in the nation, aware that the more connectivity we can generate, whether by air or sea, the more attractive the country is for manufacturing and logistics companies in the Americas and the world,” said Morten Johansen, CEO of DP World.
In turn, Frank Elías Rainieri expressed that this new synergy will allow us to continue growing and not only maintain our leadership, but also create new paradigms to turn the Dominican Republic into the most important logistics hub in the region.
“Both DP World and Punta Cana International Airport are currently regional leaders in the airport, maritime and logistics sectors, and this project will be a unique opportunity to boost the economic and social progress of the Dominican Republic,” he said.
About PCFTZ
The PCFTZ, from its Air, Maritime and Land Logistics Center, will handle import, export, transshipment and parcel cargo on a 265,518 m² site and 75 thousand m ² of construction, thus consolidating the process of cargo operations in freighter aircraft.
The volume of air cargo handled in the cold room facility will be up to 430 tons, with 5 ramp positions for wide-body cargo aircraft, once the project is completed. Depending on the configuration, up to a maximum of 108 tons per aircraft will be achievable. Checking and verification technology will be through state-of-the-art dual vision X-ray machines and, eventually, a container checking machine will be added in line with the growth of cargo volumes.
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