The Department of Parks has told the newspaper Hoy that it has begun to recondition several open spaces in Santo Domingo for better use as recreational areas. The Independencia, Eugenio María de Hostos and Mirador del Sur squares and parks will be improved. Colonel Pedro de Jesús Candelier, the Director of Parks, said that the work includes the painting and repairing of the plazas, fountains and some 24 public conveniences.
Likewise, the Ministry of Public Works will assist the Department by starting on repairs in the Parque La Caleta in the National District. The money to be spent on Independencia Square is estimated to be more than RD$130,000 and involve some 22 workers. Colonel Candelier has some 30 areas under his supervision. He says that a workshop was recently held in Jarabacoa under the sponsorship of the U.S. Peace Corps and all the administrators of the protected areas participated in order to determine the priorities and principal needs of their areas
Occidental to build hotel in Bavaro
Occidental Hotels announced that it will begin the construction of its first hotel on the East Coast, in the Bavaro area, starting this May. The hotel will cost an estimated US$45 million. José Manuel Amat, director general of the Spanish hotel chain, made the announcement when interviewed in Madrid by Tulio Navarrete of the Listín Diario at the 1996 Fitur travel trade show. He said that Occidental Hotels controls 11 hotels with an investment of almost a thousand million dollars, without including the new hotel in Bavaro. Gabriel Felip, in charge of Occidental operations in the DR, was also present during the interview. The group has been operating in the Dominican Republic for the past 15 years.