The National Budget 2025 authorizes the Dominican government to seek over $6.55 billion in international financing for 37 key infrastructure projects in 2025 mainly for transportation, water, sanitation, energy, and education, Diario Libre reports.
Among the most significant projects is the construction of a monorail in Santiago de los Caballeros, for which the government will seek a US$500 million loan. Additionally, the expansion of Santo Domingo’s Metro Line 2 calls for borrowing for US$371.5 million.
To finance these and other projects, the Dominican Republic plans to tap into resources from various international financial institutions, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE).
The National Budget also gives priority for the construction of new sections of the borderfence with Haiti, with the government authorized to secure US$239.9 million for this project. Furthermore, US$200 million will be sought for the rehabilitation and maintenance of bridges nationwide.
The Dominican Republic’s 2025 budget, approved by the Senate on 5 December 2024, projects a total expenditure of RD$1.68 trillion, with a projected deficit of 3% of GDP.
The Abinader administration has continued the trend of past governments to allocate most revenues to current spending, with major increases in public employees and their benefits, and to cover interest payments on past borrowing. El Caribe reports that the Dominican Republic’s Non-Financial Public Sector (NFPS) debt rose significantly between 2020 and November 2024 in both the composition and growth of the country’s overall indebtedness.
As of 2020, the NFPS external debt stood at US$30.7 billion, accounting for a substantial 68.8% of the total debt. Fast forward to November 2024, the combined balance of the NFPS external and internal debt has ballooned to US$57.48 billion. This represents a notable 46.1% of the estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
El Caribe
2 January 2025