The preliminary studies for the construction of a monorail on Hermanas Mirabal Avenue in Villa Mella have already begun. Ground surveys are being done by Actuacion Tecnologica en Construccion (ATECO) to determine the quality of the ground where it will be built, as reported to Clave Digital. According to Margarito de Leon, liaison between the Santo Domingo Norte City Hall and the Transport Reorganization Office (OPRET), the monorail will be “like electric buses”. This sort of mass transport system is currently in use in Curitaba, Brazil; Bogota, Colombia; and Santiago de Chile. In its first phase, the monorail will run approximately 4 kilometers. The project is being built by OPRET, which is directed by Diandino Pena. As of last Wednesday, the surveys indicate that the ground is good for this sort of construction. This monorail will affect 200 meters of land and trees within Mirador Norte Park. Diandino Pena, explained that Hermanas Mirabal Avenue in Villa Mella will serve as a model plan to prove that all transport systems – modern and traditional – can coexist there. The project consists of an integrated transport system which will include public cars, minibuses, conventional buses, electric buses and electric trains which will begin within two or three months. Pena believes that the country’s transport system cannot continue depending on “publicos” and buses. The current transport system has been controlled by unions for 40 years. He named the main union leaders as Juan Hubieres, Antonio Marte, Antonio Perez and Ramon Perez Figuereo. Pena stated that financing for the mega-project is guaranteed but did not disclose precise details.