Work is advancing on the construction of the first phase of the Arroyo Barril international airport of Samana. According to a report in the Listin Diario, the Spanish consortium Ferrovial-Agroman-Iproconsa is concluding works for the habilitation of a 1,650-meter long runway, a passenger terminal, firemen station, and other necessary structures. Airplanes with capacity for 60 passengers will be able to land in Samana as of April of this year. In a second phase, the airport runway will be expanded to the 3,000-meter requirement for the landing of wide body jets. The government estimates US$60 million will be needed to complete the runway, and is seeking international investors for this project. A Spanish company, Initec, is carrying out a study to determine what will have to be done at the site. RD$223 million was invested by the past government of President Balaguer in the airport. The Fernández administration has a judicial case against the former contractors, who, according to Euclides Sánchez, director of the Oficina de Ingenieros Supervisores de Obras del Estado, the government office that supervises the construction, cannot account for RD$80 million of the monies disbursed for the airport.
