President Luis Abinader was at the Las Americas Free Trade Zone Park in eastern Santo Domingo for the announcement of the industrial park’s expansion project. The park has 17,000 employees and expects to add
5,000 jobs this year. New jobs are being added in services, packaging materials, plastic products, medical device manufacturing and sterilization services.
President Abinader spoke of encouraging prospects for
manufacturing in 2021, when visiting the industrial park on Friday, 22 January 2021. He said the year should be one of strong economic recovery and intense business activity and that the government is betting on free zones to provide many new jobs. Abinader says forecasts are for a 6% growth in 2021.
Abinader said that in the last quarter of 2020 the free
zone manufacturing sector had registered the highest growth in its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. As of October 2020, 98% of workers were back at work after the pandemic’s turmoil.
“Investments such as those announced today reaffirm that the free trade zones are evolving; that we are incorporating more new technologies and that, therefore, our people will have greater opportunities to develop skills and abilities that will open the doors to a more promising future,” said Abinader.
Abinader has declared industrialization and job creation as a national priority, with a plan that will allow the industrial sector, as a whole, to generate 200,000 new jobs in the next four years.
Claudia Pellerano, president of the Las Americas free zone’s board, appreciated the new government for the importance it is giving to industry in the country’s economy. “Our desire is to continue attracting companies of worldwide prestige and to continue growing,” said Pellerano. At present, 30 companies operate in the free zone.
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Presidency
Las Americas Free Zone
25 January 2021