In his inaugural address at the start of his second term, President Luis Abinader challenged Dominicans to work together to catapult the Dominican Republic to developed country status in around a decade. President Abinader launched the challenge for full development by 2036.
Abinader emphasized that the objective is not merely to grow, but to ensure that growth benefits a broader segment of the population, creates higher-quality jobs, and improves public services. To achieve this, he noted that increasing the average annual GDP growth rate to 6% is essential, along with implementing significant reforms, particularly in the electricity sector to enhance efficiency, reliability, and competitiveness.
Abinader will be giving priority to the electricity sector during his second term. He has appointed his trusted minister of the Presidency, Joel Santos to the position of minister of energy. “In the past four years, we have initiated the construction of 2,000 new megawatts of thermal generation through competitive processes, with 378 megawatts already in full production. We have also contracted 1,504 megawatts of renewable generation, of which 630 megawatts are already contributing to the system. By the end of 2027, we expect to have a generation surplus of over 15% for the first time,” he said.
He acknowledged the need to strengthen distribution companies to address significant losses due to unpaid energy and said that a comprehensive transformation is already underway to tackle this issue.
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Presidential 16 August 2024 speech
Presidency
19 August 2024