President Luis Abinader gave this Thursday the first kick-off for the construction of the Barahona Port Terminal, which in its first stage will have two docks. The work will cost more than DR$150,000,000.
In his words, the president pointed out that although the initial investment will be 150 million pesos, the dredging of the area will be done with equipment borrowed from the ITM Group, which is carrying out construction work in Pedernales, and only the fuel investment will be made.
The total investment in the port of Barahona will be more than 400 million pesos due to the fact that the Ministry of Tourism is working on the design of the construction of stores, restaurants and thematic areas.
“I want to tell you that these stores, these restaurants will be occupied by Barahona residents, Barahona merchants”, said the president.
He said that the works to be built in the Pearl of the South, as the province is known, are part of the philosophy of his government which is “with little to do much”.
He emphasized that because of the beaches that the Dominican Republic possesses, works such as the cruise ship areas should be developed.
“This (cruise ports) was a sleeping giant that we are awakening for the good of the development of the Dominican Republic”, said the president during the activity.
The inauguration of the Barahona Port Terminal will take place six months after the one being built in Pedernales to complement each other, which will make it more feasible to create a cruise route between the two provinces.
“The opening of Cabo Rojo will give much greater feasibility to the one here (Barahona), even the Mexican company of Cabo Rojo told us that they will include in one of their routes will include stopping here in Barahona,” he said.
He also said that Tourism is working so that the port of Barahona becomes one of the best, since cruise ship tourists are looking for better experiences and the southern province has the tourist attractions to be one of them.
“We have to break the vicious circle of underdevelopment for the virtuous circle of development,” he stressed.
He said that there are works that are pending, but there are bureaucratic procedures, but preparations are being made to complete them.
Among the works in the region, the President highlighted the Monte Grande dam, which he said that with the signing of a new addendum for more than 70 million dollars will be completed by the end of this year.
“Two of the main objectives of this dam are to control floods and the lake to serve as a source of water for the multiple aqueduct of the area since there are water problems here”, was what Abinader said.
On his side, the director of the Dominican Port Authority (Apordom), Jean Luis Rodríguez, emphasized that the port will be able to receive two boats simultaneously to receive tourists.
He said that the initial advance payment has already been made for the construction of the work to begin.
“Today we are not only starting the rehabilitation and expansion of these docks, today we are starting the construction of opportunities, future and growth for the entire province of Barahona”, said Rodriguez.
He said that with the construction of this terminal, the Dominican Republic is becoming a logistics hub of the Americas.
He assured that the Dominican Republic will have eight cruise terminals, some under construction and others in operation.
Source: Mitur.gob.do
