Upon taking office for his second consecutive term in August 2008, President Leonel Fernandez appointed former Vice President Jaime David Fernandez as Minister of Environment and his presidential campaign manager and former Minister of Industry & Commerce Francisco Javier Garcia as Minister of Tourism. Now, both ministers propose to work together for the development of new areas such as Barahona-Pedernales in the southwest. In a press conference attended by both ministers, Tourism Minister Javier Garcia said that all steps to develop the area would be coordinated with the Ministry of Environment to guarantee the protected areas. As reported in Listin Diario, he said that in the south there is plenty of vacant land with tourism potential, so there was no need to use national park or protected area land to build hotels. He announced that an unnamed Canadian company is proposing to invest US$800 million in the area, and that the government has hired a firm from Dubai to design a master plan for Barahona and Pedernales, adding that he expected investors from Dubai to eventually also invest in the area.