President Luis Abinader traveled to Montecristi, the most northwestern province in the Dominican Republic, to meet with local authorities on the Manzanillo Port’s reconstruction works. President Abinader had announced that the government was seeking investors through the new Public-Private Partnership mechanism for the renovation and expansion of the port.
Government officers that accompanied the President on this trip were Vice President Raquel Peña, Presidency Minister Lisandro Macarrulla; Administrative Minister of the Presidency Jose Ignacio Paliza; Environment Minister Orlando Jorge Mera; Public Works Minister Deligne Ascención, Health Minister Plutarco Arias, Public-Private Partnership director, Sigmund Freud Mena and Port Authority director, Jean Luis Rodríguez. Also present were Montecristi province governor Nelsy Milagros Cruz, Montecristi senator Ramón Antonio Pimentel (Moreno Arias).
As reported in N Digital, the President said: People from all over the country will want to move to Manzanillo.” The President was speaking about what development will bring to the region. He forecast major growth for the province is practically around the corner.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to bring better quality of life through the impact the port will have on the region. President Abinader stressed the Manzanillo Port will have an impact on tourism, production and exports. He said an industrial complex will be built, export free zones and there will be an area for shipyards, and another for natural gas deposits.
The construction also encompasses the construction of the Cupey-Santiago highway, to cut more than half an hour to the time it takes to drive to Montecristi.
The Manzanillo Port is named as one of three priority projects the Abinader administration is promoting for the first investments under the new Public-Private Partnership Law 47-20.
The People’s Republic of China early on in its new relations with the Dominican Republic in 2018 had signed a memorandum of understanding for the investment in the port. This was later rejected by the United States government on grounds that the Manzanillo Port is strategically located. The US government would offer support for the development of the port.
The Medina administration had budgeted for repairs of the port. This was rejected by the Santiago industrial community that argued the port needed to be modernized to take advantage of its geographical location.
The media also reported on the two flat tires the vehicle that transported the President in Montecristi suffered during the trip. The President had to switch vehicle.
Read more in Spanish:
El Nuevo Diario
Hoy
6 September 2020