The Santo Domingo metropolitan train project, one of the most ambitious infrastructure undertakings ever in the Dominican Republic, will include an underground section connecting San Vicente de Paúl Avenue to Pintura (Av. Isabel Aguilar), spanning approximately 13 kilometers across Greater Santo Domingo, Jhael Isa explained during an interview with Ana Mitila Lora and Diogenes Pino, for El Despertador, the Channel 9 morning talk show.
Isa, executive director of the Mass Transportation Trust (Fitram), said the decision to build the mass transit to cross Santo Domingo is to optimize traffic in established urban areas and reduce visual and environmental impacts in one of the country’s most densely populated zones.
Isa highlighted that the underground design will encompass the entire section between Av. San Vicente de Paúl and Av. Isabel Aguiar, while the portion along Av. Ecológica, will be constructed at surface level. This approach will help maintain a relatively lower cost compared to the underground segment, ensuring the project’s financial viability.
The metropolitan train is intended to interconnect major areas in the National District, Santo Domingo West, and Santo Domingo North, offering an integrated solution with other mass transit systems like the metro and cable cars. “This system will significantly reduce traffic congestion, creating a bypass between the Las Américas and Duarte highways,” Isa explained.
The underground section also aligns with an urban vision that projects the area near the Olympic Center as the new capital city urban hub in the next 40 years.
However, Isa cautioned that constructing the metropolitan train to Pintura will take more than a decade. The first phase, covering the route between the Olympic Center and the Las Americas International Airport, was originally scheduled for completion in three years. This goal has been adjusted due to the need to restructure financing following the withdrawal of tax reforms.
The project, estimated to cost US$2 billion, is still in the financial structuring phase. The government had planned to contribute US$800 million, complemented by public-private partnerships. However, new financing modalities, such as concession contracts, are now being evaluated to ensure the project’s viability.
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Noticias SIN
El Despertador
20 November 2024