Dominican officials are currently engaged in talks with The Corporation of Ports, Customs, and Free Zones in Dubai in what may become the largest ever single foreign investment in the Dominican Republic, and one of most significant in all of Latin America. Danilo del Rosario, director of the Office for the Promotion of Foreign Investments (OPI), said the investment would be focused in the development of a mega-port with both commercial and tourist applications. Representatives of the interested Arab parties are expected to visit the country in February.
The proposed project would be developed in an area of 30 square km — the size of a medium sized city — and includes the modernization of the current port of Manzanillo, the construction of a container ship and cargo freight facility, 1,000 hotel rooms, a 400-slip full service marina, industrial free trade zone, ecological park, airport, urban development projects, potable water and sewage infrastructure, 100-megawatt power plant, waste recycling facility and highways. The announcement by Del Rosario brings the project back into the limelight, as it was announced in 2001 that Trans Dominicana de Desarrollo would make a US$1.4-billion investment over a seven-year period in the northwestern provinces of Monte Cristi and Dajabon. Groupe Balguerie of France has been placed in charge of the port development, in conjunction with the shipping companies Maersk, Evergreen and CMA-CGM. A Saudi Arabian company named Djebel Ali was previously announced as the builder of an industrial free trade zone in the area and the airport will be the investment of the Groupe Egis of France. Carnival, Four Seasons and Accor tourism companies will develop the tourism ventures.
For more background on the project, see http://www.global-tribune.com/dominicanrepublic/infrastructure.htm
