It would seem Dominican taxpayers have already paid for the construction of the Samana-Santo Domingo toll road. But the contract is obliging to pay for it many more times over.
Diario Libre looks into how since 2016, every year the amount paid from the National Budget to the Ministry of Public Works to pay the subsidy for the tolls for the Santo Domingo-Samaná Highway has increased. Samana has the country’s first and last concession roads. For 2019, the amount is thought to RD$3.57 million, or RD$978.8 million more established in the budget, according to a report in Diario Libre.
When the contract was signed between the Dominican State and the concession Autopistas de Nordeste, it was agreed that the government would pay a guaranteed minimum to cover any revenue shortfalls due to a lack of traffic. As has happened, there has not been a year when the vehicular traffic on the 106 kilometer toll road from the Las Americas Highway to Samaná has been sufficient to avoid the government of having to pay the subsidy.
However, in August 2018, Public Works Minister Gonzalo Castillo said that they were making progress with a review of the contract, which is due to last 30 years. In an interview with Diario Libre, he said that the road would in the future be administrated by RDVial, the trust created by the Medina administration and involving international investors.
The prices of the tolls have increased over time. In 2013 the Marbella toll was RD$55 for light vehicles; now it is RD$59. In Naranjal, the same vehicle used to pay RD$166 and now pays RD$189, and in Guaraguao it used to cost RD$195 and now is RD$222.
The road, officially called Juan Pablo II, was inaugurated on 12 December 2008. A second stage was the Boulevard del Atlantico from Nagua to Samaná, where the toll is RD$552. This road was built by Boulevard del Atlantico.
Director General of the Budget, Luis Reyes, has said that the receipts for the tolls should be audited especially given that the number of vehicles using both roads has never reached the budgeted figure.
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Diario Libre
4 December 2018
