The government has budgeted RD$4.65 billion in shadow toll payments on the Samana toll highway in the 2022 National Budget Bill. Diario Libre follows up interviewing Enmanuel Esquea, the lawyer the Abinader administration hired to review the legality of the road concession contract.
As reported, Esquea understands the government would win a legal case in court against the beneficiaries of the controversial contract. He says he recommended the contract be submitted to the Public Ministry and that the government seek the authorization of a judge to take over the toll operation and not continue making the onerous payments.
“The government should not pay another cent on that contract. The concessionaire owes the Dominican government,” Esquea told Diario Libre. He said criminal elements mire the contract. The contract was first signed during the government of former President Hipólito Mejía and then amended during the government of former President Leonel Fernandez. Mejía is a high-ranking officer in the ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM).
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Diario Libre
DR1 News
6 October 2021