DR1 Daily News - Monday, 3 July 2017

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May 3, 2000
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President’s commission recommends completion of Punta Catalina power plant
Express single window service for real estate titles
SD + San Juan: sister cities
Make Santo Domingo a Smart City to solve traffic jams
UN greenhouse gas initiative for Dominican hotels
Gay march on Sunday
Janitor accused of murder of aging couple in Gascue
Defense lawyers say Police is trying to cover up in Dutch citizens crime
Summer rains forecast through Wednesday



President’s commission urges completion of Punta Catalina power plant
The commission named by the Presidency to report on the 600-megawatt Punta Catalina power central, under construction by a consortium led by Odebrecht, recommends the completion of the Punta Catalina coal-fired thermo-electric under construction in Peravia province. After a six-month investigation, the members of the commission concluded that “for the most part”, the project has complied with Dominican law.

The power plant is the largest contract awarded by the Medina administration to Odebrecht, the Brazilian company whose representatives admitted in a New York Court of having paid US$92 million in bribes to Dominican officials. News reports have pointed to irregularities from the tender to overpricing in the construction of the Punta Catalina power plant.

The investigative commission convened by the President determined:
Regarding overpricing of the public work, the presidential commission concluded that the US$1,945 million price tag, is within a “reasonable range” and is 6% less than similar plants in Latin America, according to FTI Consulting that provided the technical expertise to the commission.

Regarding the tender, the commission reported that there should have been better controls of the process, and that the participation of Stanley Consultants was dominant. The commission recommended that the situation of a majority of the bidding firm members being part of the tender committee, as was the case of the Punta Catalina plant, not be repeated in order to ensure better supervisory capacity of the actions of the tender committee.

According to the commission, the technical advisory consultant, FTI, determined that although it was not a requirement, the tendering committee could have given other potential contractors the opportunity to submit their technical proposals to be evaluated so as not to end up with only one bidder to be considered for the financial offer evaluation, as was the case. The commission thus recommended amendments to the Procurement Law so that this cannot happen in the future. In the Punta Catalina power plant case, the consortium led by Odebrecht and also integrated by Ingeniería Estrella and Tecnimont ended up being the only one that obtained the score established in the technical requirements to continue with the next phase of the competition, the financial evaluation. The commission observed that the tender committee of Punta Catalina should have had greater control of the process, with a member of the Superintendency of Electricity and the National Energy Commission in addition to the representatives of Stanley Consultants that basically controlled the process.

Regarding the bids that were received by the tender participants, the commission said it was not able to open the credentials submitted by the companies that participating in the tender, and thus said it is not competent to determine if there were illegal payments made to secure contracts. The commission suggested the Attorney General carry out an investigation concerning accusations of bribes.

The commission reported that the tender did not include a representative of the Office of Free Access to Information as required by law. Furthermore, the commission revealed that engineer Ramón Flores and economist Isidoro Santana (later appointed Minister of Economy and Planning) resigned from the tender committee after not receiving sufficient technical details of the project.

The commission also reported that the government has paid in advance 13.69% of the contracted work.

The commission recommended that the government purchase and not lease the land from Compañía Anónima de Explotaciones Industriales, S.A of the Vicini family group.

The commission also recommended the government carry out efforts to be reimbursed for US$6.5 million paid to the Brazilian export promotion band, BNDES as commission for the approval of the financing of the power plant. Given the corruption scandal in Brazil, BNDES was not able to come forth with the US$600 million in financing.

The executive vice president of the Public Electricity Corporation (CDEEE) Ruben Jimenez Bichara expressed his satisfaction for the conclusions by the commission, as reported on the Presidency website. The Presidency note indicates that the power plant is 78% completed. Engineering works are 96% completed and 98% of principal equipment purchases have been made. The Presidency argues that the power plant will make it possible for the national grid to supply power at sustainable prices 24/7. The first unit of the power plant should be in operation in July 2018, with the second unit by December 2018.

http://hoy.com.do/lea-aqui-el-informe-completo-de-comision-investigo-punta-catalina/
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/comision-sugiere-que-se-concluya-punta-catalina-LY7526058
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...ce-planta-punta-catalina-esta-dentro-ley.html
http://almomento.net/rinde-su-infor...a-investigar-licitacion-punta-catalina/330397
http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...cios-sobrevaluacion-costo-punta-catalina.html
http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...millones-de-dolares-pagados-a-banco-brasileno


Express single window service for real estate titles
The Judicial Power Council (CPJ) announces that as of Monday, 3 July 2017, an express single window service is in place for the issuing of real estate titles. The service seeks to expedite the process and begins at the title registration offices in the jurisdictions of the National District, the province of Santo Domingo, Santiago and La Vega. The CPJ says the same service will be gradually carried over to the other provinces.


SD + San Juan: sister cities
Mayors of the National District (Santo Domingo) David Collado and San Juan Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto, signed a sister-city agreement in San Juan. The sister city program will promote initiatives and exchanges in areas of common interest, such as cleanliness, colonial city management, and economic, cultural and education development.

The signing of the agreement coincided with the birthday of former Dominican President Juan Bosch, founder of the ruling PLD party. During the event, Collado recalled that Puerto Rican statesman Luis Muñoz Marín offered asylum to Juan Bosch in 1963, after he had been overthrown from his Presidency. Juan Bosch’s mother was Puerto Rican.

https://www.metrord.do/do/noticias/...nicano-destaca-hospitalidad-pr-juan-bosc.html
http://noticiassin.com/2017/06/davi...dad-y-cooperacion-con-alcalde-de-puerto-rico/


Make Santo Domingo a Smart City to solve traffic jams
The executive director of the Dominican Telecom Institute, Katrina Naut, suggested turning Santo Domingo into a Smart City through the government initiative Digital Republic. She spoke during the first international workshop on “Urban Mobility: Technological Solutions to Traffic in the City of Santo Domingo” that took place at the auditorium of the Telecommunications Cultural Center (CCT) in the Colonial City on Thursday, 29 June 2017.

The event was organized by Indotel, the CCT, and the Fundacion Erwin Walter Palm with the participation of experts Kyoungwan Lee and Jinyung Kim, who shared the experience of South Korea in city traffic solutions.

During the event, city government expert Luis José Polanco said the Smart City system could triple the collections from traffic fines to RD$1.5 billion a year, money that he said could be put to use to solve traffic issues in the city. He explained that at present, 90% of the fines issued by Metropolitan Transit Authority agents are not paid. In the first five months of the year, AMET agents issued RD$166 million in fines, but of this only 10% has been paid.

https://www.eldinero.com.do/43977/i...ponen-solucion-tecnologica-al-transito-en-sd/
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/ciudad/mas-de-90-multas-que-pone-amet-no-se-pagan-LX7536278


UN greenhouse gas initiative for Dominican hotels
The Ministry of Environment launched an initiative to control greenhouse gas emissions in hotels and other tourist-related businesses to be implemented in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program Environment.

Deputy Minister Zoila González de Gutiérrez made the announcement. She said the initiative seeks to promote environmentally-friendly practices in the tourism sector to avoid the deterioration of ecosystems, erosion of marine biodiversity, contamination of beaches and misuse of water for human consumption.

The project focuses on transforming the value chain of tourism to accelerate resilience, efficient use of resources and lower levels of carbon emissions to contribute to sustainable development, the ministry said in a statement.

Among its objectives is to improve efficiency in the use of resources used to provide accommodation, food, drinks and meetings, conferences and events.
The initiative will run over a four-year period and will focus on hotels in Puerto Plata, Punta Cana and Bayahibe.

The announcement was made during an event celebrated in Puerto Plata hosted by the Playa Dorada Association of Hotels and Condominiums.

http://www.7dias.com.do/portada/201...on-gases-efecto-invernadero-playa-dorada.html


Domínguez Brito: Lifestyle Holidays in Cabarete is in compliance
Environment Minister Francisco Domínguez Brito says that the Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Resort under construction on Cabarete Beach has abided with environmental regulations. Domínguez Brito said that the Ministry has authorized all the permits and has given the project the corresponding follow-up.

“The Ministry of Environment has no misgivings because the project has complied with all the established requirements that were reviewed by more than 20 technicians and some things were discarded,” he explained. He said the project is in compliance with Environmental Law 64-00.


Gay march on Sunday
The LGBT community in the Dominican Republic celebrated its 10th LGBT Pride Parade with thousands walking through National District barrios and a concert when the parade ended where it began, at the Avenida del Puerto. The gay community seeks government policies guarantee equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender persons.

In a document read at the event, spokespeople for the community highlighted that recent research shows there has been a change in favor of social integration of the LGBT population in Dominican society, but discrimination still prevails in government institutions and structures.

Former US ambassador James Brewster sent a message to the Dominican people for the occasion of the parade.

http://www.listindiario.com/la-repu...bt-pide-al-gobierno-mayor-proteccion-en-salud
https://www.diariolibre.com/noticia...itan-a-la-comunidad-lgtb-dominicana-KA7534682


Janitor accused of murder of aging couple in Gascue
Francisco Alberto Durán Rosario (Francis) was sent to a year in pre-trial detention for the murder of 70-year old Cuban Maria del Carmen Revalderia Cordero and 85-year old Spaniard Carlos Carrera Amil, residents in Gascue in Santo Domingo. The murder occurred on 26 June 2017 at their apartment building.

The accused, who worked as janitor in the building, had been recently hired. The Police accuse Durán of stabbing the victims multiple times and stealing RD$7,000 euros as well as the couple’s vehicle. After committing the double murder, the Duran placed the bodies in the bathtub and tried to cover up his tracks.

Durán turned himself in after he realized the authorities were hot on his trail. He will serve pretrial jail sentence in the 15 de Azua prison.

The Police also investigated Joel Antonio Mañón Pimentel (Cacón), as a possible accomplice in the murder but no order of arrest was issued for him.

https://www.metrord.do/do/destacado...ision-preventiva-asesino-pareja-ancianos.html


Defense lawyers say Police is trying to cover up in Dutch citizens crime
The lawyers of Spaniard Erik Padrón Montilla urge prosecutors to continue investigating the case of the murder of two Dutch citizens, Rachid Benbouker and Cuma Ceviz in a suspected drug related operation in El Seibo province. All indicates that there has been a poor police investigation with the focus on the wrong person so that the case is not resolved, say the lawyers.

Padrón Montilla is a real estate broker now immersed in the murder case after having served as the middlemen for the lease of a villa where the murdered Dutch stayed as well as two men from Curacao that are suspect to be the murderers and are fugitive. An El Seibo judge will request pre-trial detention for Padron.

Defense lawyers Eduardo Jorge Prats and Miguel Valerio have said that the police authorities are trying to cover up the crime. “We make this statement given that the evidence deposited for the pre-trial detention do not tie Padrón to the crime,” they said in a public document.

http://www.elcaribe.com.do/2017/07/...deses-denuncian-pretenden-dejar-crimen-impune


Summer rains forecast through Wednesday
The National Weather Service (Onamet) forecasts rains nationwide for Monday, 3 July 2017 in the afternoon and evening as a trough moves east from Cuba. The rains are forecast for El Seibo, Hato Mayor, Monte Plata, Sánchez Ramírez, Duarte (San Francisco de Macorís), María Trinidad Sánchez, Hermanas Mirabal (Salcedo), La Vega, Monseñor Nouel (Bonao), Santiago, Espaillat (Moca), Puerto Plata, Dajabón, Elías Piña, San Juan, Santiago Rodriguez, Valverde, Monte Cristi and Greater Santo Domingo.

By Tuesday, 4 July, while the trough will have moved on, a tropical wave moves in this time from the East creating favorable conditions for more rains in the afternoon and evening especially in the north, northeast, southeast and central mountain range areas.

http://onamet.gov.do/?param=pronostico-general