The director of the Dominican Port Authority (Apordom), Jean Luis Rodriguezhighlighted the economic and social impact for the country of the result of the investment in the transformation of ports in the national territory.
The official pointed out the actions aligned with the Government’s vision of placing the country in a Caribbean Cruise Hub, within which the development of the Cabo Rojo portin Flints; the execution of the San Pedro de Macorís-Mayagüez, Puerto Rico ferry project; and the conversion of the Duarte de Arroyo Barril-Samaná port into a cruise terminal.
“In terms of port infrastructure, in general terms, there is not one in which there is not an important project that has been made viable in some way during our administration,” Rodríguez stressed when participating in the elCaribe-CDN Breakfast.
In this regard, he assured that for the first time in the history of the institution, a national plan of this magnitude is being implemented for the construction and rehabilitation of tourist and fishing docks.
He said that the plan began with a budget of 440 million pesos for the construction of the first 11 tourist and fishing docks, which has been extended throughout the national territory, doubling the investment.
“We are talking about a total of 1 billion pesos in the national plan to build and rehabilitate fishing docks,” he said.
Of the 1 billion pesos planned, around 600 million have been spent. This plan contemplates different levels of intervention in each of the ports, depending on the specific problems each one has.
“In some we have had to make large investments, as in the case of Haina. In others we have carried out maintenance and improvement work in terms of technology, as in the case of Santo Domingo, but in general terms, the investment has been made and the intervention has been comprehensive in each of the ports,” Rodríguez stressed.
The most recent delivery took place last Saturday in the communities of Salinas, Baní; and in Cabo Rojo, Pedernales, which is part of the works for the tourist development of Pedernales.
During this administration, in the eastern part of the country, Apordom delivered tourist and fishing docks in Boca de Yuma and Cabeza de Toro, both in the province of La Altagracia. The inauguration program included Las Cañitas and Sabana de la Mar, in Hato Mayor.
In the north, the institution put into operation the tourist and fishing pier of Sánchez and renovated the public tourist and transfer pier of Santa Bárbara de Samaná. “It is the famous little pier that people use to go see the whales,” which, according to the testimonies of the community members, had not been worked on in the last 40 years.
The construction plan reached Cabrera and Río San Juan, in María Trinidad Sánchez; the latter with capacity for industrialized fishing. In Luperón, Puerto Plata, the Government delivered a fishing dock and another for sailboats.
In the south, the tourist and fishing pier of Sabana Grande de Palenque, in San Cristóbal, was built. Six other piers are under development, one of which is located in Juancho, in Pedernales, and another in Caño de Yuti, Montecristi, which responds to a commitment made by President Luis Abinader, during a visit to that province, and according to Rodríguez, it is quite advanced.
In the south, the rehabilitation and commissioning of three docks in the port of Barahona and the construction, in progress, of the cruise ship dock in this province stand out.
“The important thing is that different strategies have been developed for each port. And in general terms, yes. For example, since we came to the institution, since 2020, which was when we started the government, we have already made it a priority that all ports be brought up to date with international standards,” he said.
