The National Hydraulic Resources Institute (Indrhi) has begun the construction of a dam at La Pina in the northwestern province of Dajabon, near the border with Haiti. It will provide irrigation water via the Juan Calvo Canal to 24,000 tareas of land that are farmed by 455 beneficiaries of agrarian reform governmental programs. The reservoir will also be used as a fish hatchery. Indrhi executive director Olgo Fernandez launched the construction process with the first swing of a pick. In addition to irrigation, the dam will provide a recreation area that will also be used as a forestry nursery for reforesting the surrounding areas. Fernandez said that the Juan Calvo hill would be used for an ecological park for all local residents.