The Bishop of Azua, San Juan and Elias Piña, José Dolores Grullon Estrella, has asked President Danilo Medina to build a hydroelectric dam on the Artibonito River, the longest river on the island of Hispaniola and the most important river for the Republic of Haiti. Such a project, according to the bishop, would contribute to the development of Elías Piña. Grullón Estrella said it would help improve living conditions, the environment and would create new wealth and jobs for the border area.
In a letter sent President Medina, Grullon Estrella expressed his backing of the project currently in the Senate that is requesting that the cost of this project be included in the 2018 budget. The bishop also noted that the project would be relatively simple since, as he said: “God in his infinite wisdom has allowed nature to create a narrow opening in order to facilitate the damming of the Artibonito River.”
The bishop also noted that such a project would open up lands for the settlement of Dominican families, as he said, “as a guarantee of the frontier being Dominican.” He noted that from Pedro Santana all the way to Guayajayuco there is not a single-family dwelling. He also noted that such a dam would extend the useful life expectancy of the Peligre Dam in Haiti, since it would reduce the flow of sediment towards Haiti.
He noted that in the Dominican Republic where the river is born, there is no significant project to make use of its waters. The petition for including the construction of this hydroelectric dam was signed by most of the 32 senators in the Dominican Congress.
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El Nacional
6 September 2017
