President Joaquin Balaguer’s term will end in less than 40 days, with more than 100 public works yet to be officially opened. Dr. Balaguer has put emphasis on building new schools, roads and other facilities since his return to power in 1986, and he would like to put his personal stamp on each one. In almost each province of the D.R., many works are underway, but there is concern that a great number of them will not be completed by the end of Dr. Balaguer’s term on 16 August. Bienvenido Martinez Brea (Bebecito), the coordinator of the government’s construction contracts, has been personally supervising many of the sites.
One source from the National Palace told the newspaper Hoy, however, that “although everyone is pushing for completion before 16 August, it is also not prudent to compromise the quality and safety of the work.” The consensus is that the most important projects for the President are the completion of the widening of the Autopista Duarte, which connects the National District to the northern Cibao region, and the improvements to the area leading to the entrance of the city of Santiago, also in the Cibao. In addition to these, another is the construction of the “Plaza de Salud”, the new medical complex being built on the grounds of the old Perla Antillana horse-racing track and which will include four modern hospitals.
President Balaguer is to meet soon with President-elect Leonel Fernandez in the coming weeks, and part of the transition process will undoubtedly be coordination regarding the continuation of the construction projects.