Spotlight: The 6 projects Cabei eyes for the Dominican Republic

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei) is using its financing muscle to push forward six projects in the Dominican Republic that are key for the administration of President Luis Abinader, even though feasibility studies are still underway for some of them. 

Abinader has branded the six as his signature projects, the bank’s president Dante Mossi (in photo) told BNamericas.

Cabei opened its first office in the Dominican Republic in December 2020. Since then, it has identified several opportunities, some public-private partnerships, due to the country’s strong economy, which is among the most mature of the bank’s members, said Mossi, who last visited the Caribbean nation at the end of March.

The 6 projects

-Pedernales tourism hub

Among Abinader’s priorities is the US$1bn tourism hub planned for the southwestern Pedernales municipality, the Cabei president said. 

“The idea is to generate a lot of economic activity such as a series of hotels … The bank signed a mandate with the government two weeks ago, where Cabei is going to raise about US$600mn of international debt and a local consortium will be in charge of raising the remaining US$400mn in the Dominican market to develop all the basic infrastructure,” Mossi said. 

He said the Pedernales project seeks to boost economic development as it will require infrastructure such as highways, electricity works and an airport, among others. 

Mossi’s last visit to the country included a trip to the Pedernales region, where he was accompanied by Sigmund Freund, the head of PPP promotion agency DGAPP. 

-Metro line No. 2 expansion 

The second project is the US$500mn expansion of metro line No. 2 in capital Santo Domingo, for which Cabei has already received an expression of interest for co-financing from the French Development Agency (AFD). 

Extension works for the 34km east-west line started on February 2. The 7.3km extension will connect María Montez station and Los Alcarrizos municipality.

-Santiago-Santo Domingo rail link

The bank is also involved in preparations for a passenger and freight rail link between capital Santo Domingo and the nation's second largest city, Santiago de los Caballeros, for which feasibility studies started in February. 

“There is already a contracted Spanish company in charge of doing the feasibility study and that would be a project under the PPP model,” the Cabei chief said, adding that the bank will assist the DGAPP once the construction tender is launched.

-Manzanillo gas terminal

Cabei could also provide financing for an estimated US$300-600mn energy project in Manzanillo, depending on who turns out to be the winner of an ongoing competitive tender contest. 

In March, the mines and energy ministry launched an international tender for the construction of two natural gas-fired power plants for a total of 800MW, replacing coal-fired generation.

“In the event that a Korean company wins, and there are very large companies that are interested, Cabei would be willing to channel resources to finance these Korean companies,” he said. 

-Haina port modernization

Mossi also recalled that the bank has rolled out feasibility studies for the modernization of the southern Haina port, aimed at expanding capacity and facilitating access. The prefeasibility studies have already been awarded, he said. 

- Montegrande dam

The last project is stage 3 of the multipurpose Montegrande dam, for which the bank approved a US$250mn loan.

“Half of the resources are coming from a climate change fund, which was donated by the European Union,” he said, adding that the 2km dam will help fight climate change. 

At the end of March, Cabeí announced that it approved US$3.6mn in technical cooperation for the preparation of studies and final designs for the complementary works of the multipurpose dam.