The US$125 million cost of the complete restructuring of Puerto Plata bay for multiple usage will be covered by the concessionaire, Puerto Plata Post Investment, which won the public tender for the project. The basic idea is to convert the old Puerto Plata city port area into a center for import-export commerce.
The commercial name of the cruiseship port is Taino Bay. The company is supposed to build and repair three wharves: one for cruise ships; one for freight and one for fishermen.
Victor Gomez Casanova, the executive director for the Dominican Port Authority, emphasized the economic impact of the project. The public-private alliance covers the construction of a special wharf for commercial fishermen together with a series of collateral projects for the development of the port area.
According to Gomez Casanova, just in the first year, the project is supposed to serve some 600,000 cruise line passengers. According to the press release, the Taino Bay people have already sealed deals with four of the major cruise lines, and, again according to the Port Authority director, in the second year, the number of visitors is expected to reach one million. In the more immediate future, the construction project is expected to create some 6,500 jobs.
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El Caribe
22 January 2019
