The director of the Dominican Port Authority (Apordom), Jean Luis Rodríguez, and the representative of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Katarina Falker-Olmedo, together with technical commissions from the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of the Presidency and the Ministry of Economy, toured the Bay of Manzanillo on Wednesday, 23 March 2022, as part of the follow-up work on the “Program for the Rehabilitation and Expansion of the Port of Manzanillo, in Montecristi. The IDB has committed to lend US$100 million to the project. The loan already passed in Congress.
Jean Luis Rodríguez says in a press release from the Port Authority that the Port of Manzanillo will promote the economic and social development in the northwest. He spoke of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Likewise, the new model of port administration can later be replicated in the around 20 ports that Apordom managers all around the country.
The rehabilitation and expansion of the Port of Manzanillo calls for new and modern breakwater and the improvement of access roads to the port.
To turn the Dominican Republic into a reference in the region in terms of cargo movement is one of the goals of the Abinader government,” says Rodriguez.
The present port of Manzanillo dates back to the 1950s. It has 227.70 linear meters of docks, with 36, 30 and 25 feet berthing depth. It handles refrigerated freight containers for bananas and small fruits, general cargo and loose cargo (clinker and coal) for imports. This port is considered the deepest in the country.
The visit to Manzanillo Port coincided with the calls by businessmen to reactivate the works to renovate and expand the port. Representatives of Cibao business groups say the studies carried out by the Inter American Development Bank indicate the improvements would cut 30 to 40% the logistics costs of the Cibao export sector.
The project announced by the Abinader administration proposes to build two terminals with two natural gas generators that will produce 800 megawatts of energy. Both port bids are privately managed.
Fernando Puig, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santiago, reiterated the strategic and enormous need for the port renovation. At present, the ports in the south side of the country handle the most cargo.
Reynaldo Peguero, executive director of the Council for the Strategic Development of Santiago (CDES), expects the current government to follow up on the studies that have already been carried out to advance the management and restructuring Manzanillo dock.
Read more in Spanish:
Apordom
El Caribe
24 March 2022