As reported in Diario Libre, it appears that Globalia/Air Europa chief executive Juan Jose Hidalgo plans to take advantage of the new Sectoral Protected Areas Law recently signed into law by President Hipolito Mejia. Hidalgo will reportedly go ahead with the construction of a large resort on property he purchased within the limits of the National Park of the East. When environmentalists and hotel groups questioned the legality of the real-estate transaction that was carried out with the approval of President Mejia, Hidalgo reneged and said he would not build the hotel on that land but rather on the East Coast instead. Now that President Mejia has ratified the bill to authorize construction in the area, Hidalgo appears to want to proceed after all.
?It looks like the law (of protected areas) has cleared all that up and now I have even greater aspirations,? said Hidalgo from Madrid, as quoted in the Diario Libre, in reference to his plans to build many hotels in the DR. Hidalgo asserted his confidence that the plot of land has been excluded from official park protection.