Aerodom, the company that won the tender for the operation of the Arroyo Barril (Samana), María Montez (Barahona), Las Americas (Santo Domingo) and Gregorio Luperón (Puerto Plata) airports now has changed its mind. They are proposing to use the Arroyo Barril facility only for domestic operations. Instead of expanding that terminal, they propose to build another airport on a plain located at Catey-Majagua, some 51 kilometers northwest of the present location. Arroyo Barril is located near Sánchez, 16 kilometers from Samana. Community leaders oppose the new location, as it will mean tourists will have to travel about an hour and a half by ground transportation to get to their hotel. The proposal, nevertheless, would seem to make good business sense. With the construction further west, the airport could also better serve the large resorts that are already in operation in the Playa Grande-Río San Juan-Cabrera (Costa Verde) area along the North Coast. Tourists headed for those resorts today land at the Gregorio Luperón (Puerto Plata) also operated by Aerodom. It would also be attractive for those headed for the large city of San Francisco de Macorís. Ellis Pérez, spokesman for the company, says that the airport in El Catey would take less time to build, 18 months, than the 2-1/2 years it would take to expand Arroyo Barril. The company would invest US$40-US$60 million in the new facility. According to Engineer Serrano Banks, to win the bid for the four airports, Aerodom agreed to a US$55 million + US$14 million (second phase) investment and a 24 month construction period. He and other Samana community leaders argue that the problems with the Arroyo Barril expansion were well known to Aerodom when the bid was made. Engineer Serrano says that the Aerodom proposal for the expansion practically won the company the bid over the other more conservative companies. Today Arroyo Barril, a RD$275 million investment of the Dominican state, receives only Air Santo Domingo flights. Several community leaders in Samana would like their destination to become a mecca of thousands of package-buying tourists. Thousands of hotel rooms in large resorts are on the drawing board, despite recommendations of experts that low-density projects are best for the fragile ecology of Samana. Meanwhile, not having an airport has been a bonus for nature lovers that today enjoy the many small inns and hotels that dot the province. (28 November 2000)
