Yesterday the President of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (CODIA) announced that his organization was sending to the Attorney-General a report which lays responsibility on the former leadership of the Public Works Ministry for the faults and deficiencies of the RD$300 million Avenida Jacobo Majluta project north of Santo Domingo. The CODIA announcement was widely interpreted as a corruption allegation against former Minister Jaime "Jimmy" Dur?n Hernando, who ran the Public Works Ministry when the project was "finished" and inaugurated in August 1997. Yesterday Dur?n denied any wrongdoing to the news daily El Siglo and said that he would fight any and all such allegations. A report leaked to the press yesterday from Public Works’ own Department of Soil Laboratories and Materials Testing shows that structural problems in the road were recognized before the inauguration and that Public Works was still trying to correct them after the inauguration. An internal Public Works engineers’ report suggests that some of the problems in the project may have been caused by cutting corners to meet the August 1997 completion deadline for the project. The road project had been initiated in 1994 under the Administration of then President Joaqu?n Balaguer, but work halted after only a short segment was built. The Fern?ndez Administration made completion of the full project within one year one of its priorities upon taking office in August 1996.The Department of Corruption Prevention has requested copies of the Public Works reports in order to initiate its own investigation.
