SANTO DOMINGO, RD- In an action awaited for years, President Luis Abinader inaugurated yesterday, Thursday, the six-level that will house the public parking lot located at the corner of Arzobispo Meriño and Avenida Mella, in the Colonial City, an infrastructure with capacity for 352 vehicles, which cost more than $960 million pesos, equivalent to $16 million dollars.
The operating contract was awarded to TX Internacional, a Panamanian firm specializing in technological services, facility management and logistics, with a presence in several Latin American countries, including the Dominican Republic, and is responsible for the operational management, collection, maintenance and customer service of the parking lot.
The project is part of a comprehensive plan to reduce the historical parking deficit in the heritage center of Santo Domingo, aggravated by more than a decade of urban interventions if one takes into account the renovation project that was developed with IDB funds in 2011.
“This project not only reduces congestion, but also guarantees a safer, more organized, and modern experience for visitors and residents of the Colonial City,” Abinader emphasized during the inaugural ceremony.
The “Colonial Zone” has been the subject of interventions for more than 15 years, including pedestrianization plans, sidewalk renovation, lighting, facade renovation and traffic reorganization that, according to municipal studies, have produced a reduction of nearly 40% of parking spaces on public roads, which has generated tensions between the protection of heritage and the mobility of residents, merchants and tourists.
Until now, parking within the city limits depended on informal solutions or saturated locations, and with this building the Government seeks to establish a replicable model of vertical parking in high-density areas, especially in tourist spots.
fiduciary model
The project was financed by the Parquéate RD Trust, managed by AFI Reservas, with a Technical Committee overseeing management and return on investment. It was created by Decree 181-19 in 2019, with the objective of planning, constructing, financing, and operating a network of public parking facilities throughout the country through private participation.
This fiduciary model differs from other older instruments, such as the RD Vial road network trust (2013), and has been key in the execution of similar works, such as the Las Atarazanas parking lot, also in the Colonial City, inaugurated in 2023 with a capacity of 200 vehicles.
The combination of public investment, private management, and technology positions this project as a benchmark in sustainable urban mobility, and the Government has announced that more parking buildings are planned for other strategic areas of the country, replicating the financial and operational model applied in this case.
Rates and operation
The service includes charging stations for electric vehicles, universal accessibility, 24/7 surveillance and digital payment systems, with a rate of $100 pesos per hour, although a tiered structure for fractions or extended time is being studied, as occurs in Las Atarazanas, where the first hour is charged at RD$50 and is progressively reduced from the second hour onwards.
The toll collection system will be entirely digital, with payment options including card, QR code, or mobile app. Private management is expected to provide operational efficiency, enhanced security, and better control of traffic flow during peak hours.
The new parking lot is shaping up to be a concrete solution to the serious parking shortage that has plagued the Colonial City for years and, in addition to improving the visitor experience, seeks to alleviate pressure on the streets.
This new building joins the 200 spaces at the Las Atarazanas parking garage, inaugurated in 2023, which has served as a pilot project for the trust-based management model. However, experts agree that it is essential to continue expanding the supply of vertical parking facilities to meet growing demand and preserve the city's heritage.
In short, the opening of the new six-level parking garage represents a crucial step forward in the long struggle against the shortage of parking spaces in the Colonial City.
