MOPC launches the National Plan for Connectivity and Transformation of Road Infrastructure

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

Santo Domingo.- The Ministry of Public Works and Communications announced this Tuesday the official launch of the National Plan for Connectivity and Transformation of Road Infrastructure (PLANACOVIAL), an initiative aimed at improving road circulation and transforming infrastructure in the Dominican Republic.

The project, announced in the MOPC conference room, has the support of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration ( CABEI ) through an investment of 421 million dollars, and which will be executed by this Ministry.

Planacovial will benefit around 659,830 Dominican residents in the provinces of Santo Domingo, San Pedro de Macorís and El Seibo, seeking to improve road circulation, reduce travel time between provinces, reduce the number of accidents and promote tourism in the municipality of Miches.

Among the details of the project, the rehabilitation and improvement of the service level of 19 km of the Duarte highway stands out, as well as the construction of 15.3 km of marginal road to decongest this road. In addition, the construction of 67.9 km of highway from San Pedro de Macorís to the municipality of Miches, with two lanes of traffic.

Minister Deligne Ascención considered that the designed plan is of singular importance for the country, while highlighting that the projects that have been structured cover the Eastern, Southern and Northern regions.

He said that in the East the road that will connect San Pedro de Macorís with Miches will facilitate connectivity with one of the poles of tourism development. “Without this route, the development of Miches with as much potential as the others that have already been developed would not be possible.”

He stated that this road will allow not only the proximity of that destination, but also something strategic, which is that the workers of these projects can travel to their different destinations.

Regarding the Northern region, Ascención said that the plan contemplates the expansion of the construction of some elevated roads on the main road axis of the country, which is the Duarte highway, and that this will contribute to making it an expressway, practically from Santo Domingo to Montecristi.

Likewise, regarding the Southern region, he referred to the expansion of the Sánchez highway, which he said will have a lot to do with Pedernales and the development push that that province is having.

“Without this expansion, the growth of Pedernales would be quite limited, because in addition (the Sánchez highway) is the only regional road that still continues to be two lanes, and it needs an expansion due to all the investment that the government is developing in different parts of this region,” he said.

Ascención also referred, as Planacovial's fourth project, to the construction of the ring road that will border two small towns, in which when there are situations, gold exports are delayed, in reference to Cotuí and Maimón.

While the executive president of CABEI, Gisela Sánchez, highlighted that it is tremendously encouraging for this entity to see how there are already such concrete results of the virtuous relationship that has been generated between the government of the DR and CABEI.

“There is nothing more effective than showing the results of current projects. Together we have shown that virtuous relationships with a clear vision and co-agility have concrete results to improve people's quality of life, to promote foreign direct investment, tourism, connectivity in general that allows Dominicans to have a better quality of life." , he claimed.

Hostos Rizik , director of CABEI in the Dominican Republic, highlighted that the project is a significant step towards development, and that this institution will continue to support the economic, social and environmental development of the country with impact projects that contribute to the quality of life of the people. Dominicans.

Other participants in the meeting were the CABEI manager in the country, Manuel Ogando; Erwin Masis, director of CABEI in Costa Rica; José Miguel Argumares and Manuel Romero, from the consulting firm Typsa.

While the MOPC was attended by the Chief of Staff, Rafael Espinal; the vice ministers Roberto Herrera, Mélito Santana, Tomasina Pascual, Luis Bastardo, Elías Santana, as well as Domingo Santana, legal director, and José Cedeño, director of Parquéate-RD.