1999 – Page 246

Tourism Minister F?lix Jim?nez said yesterday that the number of tourists arriving in the DR via Puerto Plata/Sosua’s Gregorio Luper?n International Airport fell in 1998. According to Ministry figures, a record 739,325 tourists came through the airport in 1997, but in 1998 only 666,353. He noted, however, that in the 1990-1997 tourist traffic through the …

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The Dominican Federation of Land Transport (FENATRADO), a collection of some 150 organizations involved in transport, has called for a one-day protest strike on January 22nd in several Southern provinces. Included in the strike area are the provinces of Azua, Barahona, El?as Pi?a, Jiman?, Neyba, Pedernales and San Juan. According to FENATRADO director Jos? Luis …

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Sports Minister Juan Marichal told reporters at a press conference yesterday that his Ministry was handing over repair and reconstruction work on La Romana sports facilities to the Ministry of Public Works. The press encounter was held to tout the 1998 achievements of the Sports Ministry. Marichal said that his Ministry’s engineers have readied all …

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The Escogido Lions beat the Cibao Eagles 8-3 at Cibao Stadium last night with a five-run rally in the ninth inning. The victory made the Lions the regular season winners with 40 games won to the Eagles’ 39. Lions thereby automatically win a berth in final series ("playoffs"), while the Eagles must battle the third-place …

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The Prime Minister of Taiwan, Vincent C. Siew, will complete his official visit to the DR today. He arrived in Santo Domingo Monday afternoon. Prime Minister Siew heads a 40-member delegation of both Chinese officers and businessmen that are interested in investing in the DR. Included in the delegation are Minister of Foreign Relations Chih …

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Five groups submitted bids yesterday to win the concession to manage four Dominican airports: Las Am?ricas (Santo Domingo); Gregorio Luper?n (Puerto Plata); Arroyo Barril (Saman?); and Mar?a Mont?s (Barahona). The bid submissions and readings were conducted in the presence of the Airport Commission headed by the Public Works Ministry and observed by a panel of …

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The Chamber of Deputies yesterday approved four international loan agreements which together will total US$285 in new Dominican official debt if approved by the Senate. These include: a US$105 million agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IBD) for reconstruction after Hurricane Georges; a US$111 million World emergency loan for the same purpose; a US$60 million …

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The Office of Investment Promotion (OPI) reported yesterday that foreign direct investment (FDI) in the DR rose from US$405.2 million in 1997 to US$634.93 in 1998, a hike of 56.7%. In its report on 1998 FDI flows, OPI said that US$312.9 million, or 49.3% of the 1998 total, went into the tourism sector, while US$138.5 …

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The Central Bank yesterday injected US$11 million to prop up the official peso-dollar exchange, and will add another US$14 million. Last week the Bank used US$17 million to defend the peso, but the exchange rate continued slipping ever so slightly to RD$15.5=US$1. Yesterday Banco Popular was buying at RD$16.16=US$1, while Banreservas and Banco Mercantil bought …

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After many weeks of public debate about the need for sex education in the DR’s public schools, Education Minister Ligia Amada Melo told the news daily El Siglo yesterday that her Ministry plans to promote post-graduate degrees and a finance a masters for teachers wishing to teach sex education. She said that she will be …

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