The signing marks a milestone for the country as it is the first PPP contract signed under Law No. 47-20 and the first time that a port terminal is put into operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through a public-private partnership.
EL NUEVO DIARIO, Santo Domingo – Through the special powers granted by the President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, the Dominican Port Authority (Apordom) signed the first public-private alliance contract as a contractor with PDAB Port Investments Sociedad Gestora, SA General Executive Arroyo Barri Project to transform Puerto Duarte, in El-Samaná, into a cruise terminal.
The document was signed in the National Palace by Jean Luis Rodríguez, Executive Director of the Port Authority (representing the Dominican State) and Mauricio Hamui, General Manager of PDAB Port Investments Sociedad Gestora, SA; Joel Santos Echavarría, Minister of the Present Presidency; Eliardo Cairo, Deputy Technical Director of the DGAPP, representing the structural units of the project that will be implemented under the PPP model.
The initiative, approved at the end of March of this year, proposes repairs and construction of infrastructure to allow the arrival of Oasis class ships, the largest in the world, after a rigorous competitive process that selected open and transparent contractors. cruise industry, in addition to developing a terminal capable of serving four cruise ships simultaneously.
The moment the public-private alliance agreement was signed (Photo: external source)
This new cruise terminal to be developed in Arroyo Baril will be added to the existing Amber Bay and Taino Bay in Puerto Plata, the Romana Cruise Terminal in La Romana and Cabo Rojo in the Ports of Pedernales, in this way the country will have five centers port tourism. with adequate infrastructure to accommodate large capacity vessels.
To put the terminal into operation, PDAB Port Investments Sociedad Gestora, SA is expected to invest 68 million dollars, equivalent to 3.8 billion pesos, and the State will receive an estimated net income of 1.75 dollars per cruise passenger during the term. of the contract. The monthly rent per square meter used by the project is US$0.53, which will provide the Dominican country with income of US$115.6 million during the 33 years of the contract.
Through this alliance, the Port of Duarte will be transformed into a cruise terminal (Photo: External Source)
Joel Santos Echavarría, Minister of the Presidency, said: “This Sanmena Cruise Terminal is part of a strategic plan for one of the most prosperous economic sectors, tourism, with which many countries have relations, other sectors of the economy, highlighting that in the same vein, we as a country have gone out to put ourselves on the map in different destinations and we are looking for different categories of tourists where cruise tourists are found.”
The official assured that professionalism is needed for this very special cruise strategy to work, highlighting that PDAB Port Investments Sociedad Gestora, SA is highly qualified not only to be a suitable partner for a project of this type, but also to become a partner of this project. This work will be carried out in conjunction with the governments of Pedernales and Barahona.
Santos Echavarría also highlighted that they are strengthening this complementary offer through the theme park, which is of interest not only for the cruise terminal itself, but also for the province of Samaná, which has both hotels and real estate developments.
“The attorney general has done a great job promoting public-private partnerships, which is another important factor that this administration is paying close attention to,” he said.
Likewise, the executive director of Apordom, Jean Luis Rodríguez, said that this is the first time in history that port shipments are carried out through a public-private alliance, as are usually established through concessions, under of the provisions of Law No. 70-70 that created the Dominican Port Authority.
He assured that this new cruise terminal will create new jobs and entrepreneurship in Samina and improve tourism opportunities, which, he said, will boost social and economic development in the entire northeastern region and central Cisburg.
Rodríguez explained that 161 ships are expected to arrive at the terminal each year, transporting approximately 3,300 passengers from Miami, Port Canaveral, Port Everglades, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Curacao, Barbados, Montenegro Gulf of Mexico, Saint Lucia, Tampa Bay and New York. “The terminal is designed to receive up to one million visitors per year and will undoubtedly lead us to consolidate our country’s position as the Caribbean cruise hub,” said the official.
Minister of the Presidency Joel Santos Echavarría (Photo: External source)
Mauricio Hamui, general manager or general director of PDAB Port Investments Sociedad Gestora, SA, pointed out that the Arroyo Baril Port will become an economic engine for the entire province of Sanmena and will bring wealth to all parts of the world. province and will create jobs in the town.
The deputy technical director of the DGAPP, Eliardo Cairo, briefly highlighted his satisfaction with “a great milestone for the country”, since it is the first contract for an infrastructure project developed through a public-private alliance. Protected by Law No. 47-20, which was enacted only three years ago and has been in force in Dominican legislation. “
Cairo highlighted that the project is part of the decision of the government of President Luis Abinadel to position the country as the “hub” for cruise ships in the Caribbean, and added that this new terminal will promote greater vitality for tourism and business in the province, creating nearly 1,050 flights that operate directly and indirectly.
