Financial analyst Alejandro Fernández writes in his Argentarium column in Diario Libre that for every RD$100 paid at Dominican highway tollbooths, RD$76 now goes to cover interest payments for commitments made by Fideicomiso RD Vial, the trust created by the Medina government since its start to manage the tollbooth collections.
Fernández observes the fund has borrowed more than its capacity. He writes that in the first two years of the trust, 2013-2014, US$265 million was invested in road projects, most of this borrowed money. In the last two years, these investments have dropped to US$130 million.
He writes that since its start, the trust has paid more than RD$10 billion in finance charges. He says 90% of the funds collected at the tollbooths now are allotted to cover the finance charges on the debt taken on, leaving very little to cover maintenance works of the highways or new roads.
RD Vial debt had climbed to RD$27 billion as of 2016, making it the worse performing regional highway trust.
Fernandez observes that the trust fund is just one of other “monetizations” made by the government to disguise public debt. He mentions another such monetization is how the government has handled the debt with electricity generators.
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Diario Libre
25 April 2019