The Dominican Port Authority outlined yesterday in a press conference its efforts to improve services offered at the ports of Santo Domingo. Mary Kasse, deputy director of the Port Authority, said that cruise ship traffic is up. She said that in the first two months of the year, cruise ships have made 325 stops at the San Souci (east side) and the San Diego (west side) docks of the Port of Santo Domingo. This is up from 298 ship stops in 1999. She explained the cruise ship season primarily runs from November to April. She says statistics show some 211,991 tourists visited Santo Domingo by sea. She said the government has a plan to get Carnival Cruise Lines to return to Santo Domingo. The ship discontinued its stops because of river dredging problems, and garbage generated by the many slum areas located alongside the river, up from the ports area. The garbage flows downstream when it rains. The Port Authority also said that given deficiencies of the service provided by the Municipality of Santo Domingo, they have taken upon themselves since last September to keep the liter off the streets from Calle Estrelleta to Calle Padre Alba, including the Plaza de España area, and the Plaza Montesinos monument. Tree planting on the eastern bank of the river is also part of the efforts to make the most of the otherwise lovely environment. Alfa Méndez, also of the Port Authority, said that the government estimates the cruise ship activity generates about US$1 million a day (transfers and taxi fares, shopping, port area jobs, etc.) (28 March 2000)
