El Caribe newspaper publishes interviews with Madsen Cherubin, head of the Haitian mission in the DR, and Renzo Herrera, of the Lome IV office in the Dominican Republic. The interviews reveal that the European Union funds will be used to build a Dajabón-Cap Haitien highway that will provide a modern thoroughfare along a large part of the Dominican-Haitian frontier. They explained that as part of efforts of the Dominican-Haitian Bilateral Commission, the project was identified as priority for the frontier area. The other priority projects are the construction of a bridge over Masacre River and the development of the Port of Manzanillo in the DR. This bridge and the highway would permit a flow of tourists from the Dominican Republic to carry out day visits to Haiti’s northeast that has lovely beaches and the impressive Citadelle castle. This is a way to get around the ongoing political crisis in Haiti that has scared away investments, considerably affecting employment in Haiti and the welfare of the general population. The trip to Haiti would surely become one of the most popular day excursions for visitors to the North Coast. Importers and exporters of both countries would use the Port of Manzanillo. Studies have shown that the Port of Manzanillo has the best conditions of ports on the North Coast, and could become the main port for Santiago cargo. Santiago is the second largest city in the DR. The highway construction is expected to start in early 2001.
