A French company chosen by the Mejia administration to turn Manzanillo port into a container terminal has announced the start of work on the project. Groupe Balguerie is the shipping port development partner of Trans Dominicana de Desarrollo. A first phase calls for the investment of US$200 million in the next two years. The port then will be able to handle 150,000 containers a year. Pierre Piageat, director of port development for TDD, said initial works will prepare the port operations. In a second phase, the docks will be expanded to 600 meters, up from the present 225 meters. A fuel terminal and grain cargo terminal will also be built. Manzanillo is one of four megaports that are scheduled to be operating in the DR in the next two to three years which would turn the DR into the major shipping center of the Caribbean. The others are the remodelling of Haina, the Punta Caucedo Port (US$300 million), and San Pedro de Macoris Port (US$165 million). The port is the first of a series of development projects programmed by TDD for the Monte Cristi (Manzanillo)-Dajabon provinces. They call for an overall investment of US$1.8 billion over a period of seven years. The projects include the construction of a container ship and cargo freight port in Manzanillo, 1,000 hotel rooms and a 400-slip full service marina, industrial free trade zone, ecological park, airport, urban development projects, potable water and sewage infrastructure, 100 megawatt power plant, waste recycling facility and highways.
