Dominican Rep airport project grounded by supreme court

The Dominican Republic's supreme court has ruled out the possibility of reviving a controversial project to build the Bávaro international airport in Higüey municipality in the east of the country. 

The court rejected an appeal against a ruling that the permission granted to begin construction of the airport was detrimental to national interests, which was based on a declaration issued by the civil aviation institute (IDAC) in December 2020 and that halted the project. 

The decision of the court was dated December 22 but was made public on December 26.

The appeal was filed by the promotors of the airport, including businessman Abraham Hazoury and his partners, through the Abrisa group. 

Miguel Valerio, a lawyer for Corporación Aeroportuaria del Este, which owns Punta Cana international airport and which opposed the project, said that this latest court ruling invalidates the original decree from the Dominican government that authorized the construction and it may not be challenged. 

The ruling has been applauded by those who criticized the project due to claims of corruption and said it was not needed.

The initiative to build the airport was approved by then-president Danilo Medina’s government in early 2020, but the legal wrangling started after President Luis Abinader took office in August of that year. 

Seven injunctions have been filed against the project for alleged corruption after construction began without a bidding process having been carried out. The proposed airport was also described as “senseless and unnecessary” as it would only be 25km and two minutes by plane from Punta Cana international airport. 

Because of the lawsuits, the project's environmental declarations were cancelled in September 2022 by the environment ministry. 

Hazoury and his partners have repeatedly dismissed the legal issues, referring to the approval originally granted by Medina’s administration.