Major urban renewal works for the old city of Santo Domingo are scheduled to start this spring. The US$30 million program is being financed by the Inter-American Development Bank. Jorge Daries, executive director of Epysa, the firm behind the feasibility study for the loan, and which will continue in an advisory role, said that a commission chaired by Tourism Minister Francisco Javier Garcia is overseeing tenders for contracting the companies that will carry out enhancement projects.
The project includes the placement of underground electricity cables in several areas of the Colonial City. The San Francisco Monastery ruins will be converted into a cultural and events center, expected to improve the marketability of the Colonial City. Other monuments will also be enhanced, and facilities will be created for micro and small businesses to help them become more competitive.
Daries has highlighted that the physical recovery and restoration of the cultural city will be carried out with a holistic approach to ensure that the growth is orderly and sustainable. He said works would be completed within a four-year period. The plan is to turn the Colonial City in a strategic area for business and tourism destination.