President Leonel Fern?ndez and the Association of Hotels & Restaurants have urged Congress to pass the contract that grants a concession for the management of the Las Americas (Santo Domingo), Gregorio Luper?n (Puerto Plata) Mar?a Montez (Barahona) and Arroyo Barril (Saman?) airports to an Italian, a US and an American company. Allegations of potential future problems with the contract, due to unfavorable terms, were disputed by the firms winning the bid — Aeropuertos Dominicanos Siglo 21, Operadora de Aeropuertos del Caribe and YVR Airport Services, Ogden Central and South America and Impreglio. Lawyer Jottin Cury, who participated in the commission that supervised the bidding for the privatization, questioned that the holding company, Aerodom had a capital of barely RD$20,000. But the companies say that the holding company has a capital of RD$10 million that will be increased to RD$200 million in a first phase and RD$650 million in a second phase. By Dominican law, a company’s responsibility is only limited to its capital. Cury feels that the participating foreign companies should also be liable. Cury is also concerned that the improvements made in the airports would not become property of the state, as per the contract, and could be transferred to third parties. He also expressed his concern that debts accrued would be passed on to the state at the end of the 20-year lease period. The companies, in a full-page advertisement in the Listin Diario today, dispute these charges saying that the contract establishes the companies need to pass on a debt-free balance. Cury urges that the contract in full be published for public awareness and additional legal opinions prior to its being passed by Congress. The winning consortium expects to make investments for a total of US$417 million during the 20-year duration of the contract. The contract grants the right to the management of the principal airports serving Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata, as well as to the airports of Barahona and Saman?.
