Geologist Osiris de Leon, coordinator of the environmental group of the Academy of Sciences and president of the Mining Chamber of the Dominican Republic described as outright rubbish the proposal to use materials removed from digging sites for the Santo Domingo underground to build the artificial island proposed for the front of Santo Domingo’s hotel strip. As reported in El Dia newspaper, De Leon said this would be the equivalent of building a house on quick sand. He said there is no way to ensure the compacting of this material in the sea given the constant movement of the waves. As reported in El Dia, the promoters of the Novo Mundo XXI artificial island, head by Eulogio Santaella, informed a Finance Commission of the Senate that they are studying the use of the earth dug up to make way for metro tunnels.