In the latest scandal to emerge in connection with Samana, Senate leader Jesus Vasquez (PRD) says that the Senate is still pondering the Roberto Prats-Jampi Investments concession, as authorized by Presidential Decree 569-02, dated 21 August 2002. Labor Minister Milton Ray Guevara said that on 23 January President Mejia endorsed another deal, with a company known as Creco Development Corporation. Guevara, a former senator for Samana, said that the President ordered his legal advisor, Guido Gomez Mazara, to rescind the contract with Prats on 22 January.
Jampi Investments has proposed to invest US$200 million over a 50-year period to improve the area’s tourism and urban infrastructure, including the renovation of its sea-fronting boulevard; the dredging and remodelling of the port; the cleanup of the river mouth; the construction of a marina, shopping centers, sports installations, villas, apartments, hotels and a bus station; and a recovery operation for the local beach. News reports, however, have criticized the contract because it allows the company to sell the concession to a third party, without establishing clear responsibilities for the investors, while the Dominican government contractually guarantees the profitability of the investment.
In an advertisement published today in Hoy newspaper, businessman Prats says that the clause is nothing new and has been routinely included in all the concessionary contracts signed by the Mejia government. The track record of these concessions indicates that while numerous contracts have been granted, none has been implemented, despite the advantageous conditions they endow.
The competing Creco Development Corporation contract, which according to Ray Guevara was authorized by President Mejia on 7 April 2003, establishes that the company would operate the tourism infrastructure concession for 30 years for an investment of US$20 million.