The president was sworn in on August 16 for his second presidential term.
SANTO DOMINGO.– President Luis Abinader highlighted this Friday, during his inaugural address, the investment that has been made in the country's various airports, stating that private investment in the Dominican Republic is at its highest level in history.
The president stated that the Punta Cana airport has doubled its facilities in the past four years, and that construction of Terminal 2 at the Santo Domingo airport will begin next year. “This year, 2024, construction began on a new terminal at the Santiago airport and the new Pedernales International Airport,” the president told dignitaries, legislators, and national and international representatives who gathered on August 16 at the National Theater for his swearing-in ceremony for his second term.
“Our government has fostered an excellent climate of trust, which has allowed us to attract private investment to the country at the highest levels in history. This is evident in the investment component of GDP, which has risen from an average of 25% in the period 2007 to 2020, to 32% from 2021 to 2023,” Abinader stated.
He stated that the Dominican Republic's economic growth has reached enviable levels, such as those recorded in 2021, 2022, and 2023, when the Gross Domestic Product saw a remarkable average annual increase of 6.5%, well above the regional average. "And forecasts from international organizations like the International Monetary Fund place our growth for this year at 5.4%, significantly higher than the 1.9% projected for the region in 2024.".
President Luis Abinader stated that the Dominican Republic is one of the most economically stable countries in Latin America and has one of the lowest inflation rates. “In May 2023, the Dominican Republic fell below the 4% target range, becoming one of the first countries to achieve this goal. We closed the year at 3.57%, and we continue working to mitigate the effects of global inflation.”.
He added that foreign direct investment stood at more than $4.39 billion at the end of 2023, breaking the record we had already reached the previous year and that contrasts with ECLAC data indicating that, in the region, that investment fell by about 10% for the same period.
“In 2023, the Dominican Republic welcomed over 10 million visitors in a single year for the first time. This not only confirms our successful recovery from the pandemic but also demonstrates that our strategy of rapid reopening and reforms has allowed us to surpass pre-COVID expectations. I anticipate that in 2024, we will exceed 11.5 million visitors, solidifying our position as the second most visited country in Latin America.”.
In that regard, he noted that the strength of tourism and other sectors allowed the country to close 2023 with the highest level of international foreign exchange reserves in history at 15,457 million dollars.
“All these indicators consolidate us as the seventh largest economy in Latin America and are leading us to become a world-class logistics hub, taking advantage of our privileged geographical position in the Caribbean, a strategic point for world trade.”.
He noted that his government will continue to consolidate this hub with a strong investment in infrastructure that is better connecting the entire country and increasing logistical capabilities.
“In the past four years, we have built two new tourist ports and three more are under construction through public-private partnerships. In addition, a new large multimodal logistics dock is already under construction in Manzanillo, in the north of the country. To this we must add the more than 15 fishing docks we have built in different parts of the country.”.
The president declared that previously neglected areas have been reformed and connected, betting on mass transit with the construction of large infrastructures such as the Santiago monorail, the cable cars of Santiago and Los Alcarrizos and the extension of the Santo Domingo metro.
