Dominican Rep's Abinader updates progress on tourism complex

Road and waterworks for the Dominican Republic’s US$2bn Pedernales tourism project will be ready this half, according to President Luis Abinader.

The project includes hotels and an airport, among other infrastructure. Construction of the first two hotels started in February, one of which could begin operations in 2025, Abinader was quoted as saying by news outlet Arecoa on Tuesday. 

The project is overseen by the Pedernales trust, which is managed by PPP agency DGAPP. 

The president also gave an update on construction of Las Parras prison complex, in San Antonio de Guerra municipality. The new facilities are expected to house 8,778 inmates and replace the congested La Victoria prison. 

Nevertheless, the president said the project was built on a swamp and requires works that were not included in the initial executive project. 

“Construction of Las Parras is far from finished. The budget to finish it is 1.6bn [pesos, US$27mn] for several reasons,” he said during a press conference, according to news outlet N. “It is built on a swamp and there is work to be done related to sewers and many other details. We are very interested in finishing it because La Victoria became non-operational three decades ago.”

Abinader added that the project will need at least another year for construction.

On Tuesday, La Victoria prison suffered an 11-hour fire that caused the deaths of three inmates and injured another 11. According to Diario Libre, the fire was caused by a short circuit.