By Escalin Well
El Inmobiliario
SANTO DOMINGO.- The president of the Santo Domingo East Builders Association (Acosde), Riubell Montes de Oca, stated that the construction sector requires the development of public-private partnerships to address the slowdown the industry is experiencing, according to data from the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic.
“To revitalize the sector, a joint effort between the government, financial institutions, and private sector stakeholders is necessary. This includes measures to stabilize material prices and review the tax burden on projects,” he stated.
This position responds to what was disclosed by the autonomous state entity, where they announced a decrease during the first two months of the year, reflected in a drop of -7.7%.
The president of Acosde explained that this scenario is due to several economic and structural factors that have impacted the dynamics of the sector, among these he mentioned the increase in the tax burden.
As a new additional cost, he mentioned the solid waste tax. He explained that this situation presents new associated costs that are added to the budget of construction projects in the country.
This month, the Central Bank released its latest report, which specified that the sector showed a rebound during March. However, when considering the data from January and February, the first quarter's performance remained negative at -1.2%.
Montes de Oca specified that another cause of these negative numbers has been the decrease in public investment, the sustained increase in interest rates on construction loans and the “volatility” in the dollar rate.
Acosde Board of Directors. (EXTERNAL SOURCE).
He pointed out that these variables have "increased the cost" of projects and have also limited investment capacity, which has affected both local developers and foreign investors.
On the other hand, he said that the continued rise in the prices of key construction materials, such as cement and steel, has led to a compromised financial situation for developers.
He also added that there is a shortage of "skilled labor" in different parts of the country, adding to the factors that have kept the sector in decline during the first two months of 2025.
“This lack of personnel has delayed the normal development of the works, generating discontent among buyers and affecting the general perception of the efficiency of the sector,” he stated in a press release addressed to El Inmobiliario.
Despite this situation, he commented that the sector maintains "moderately optimistic" expectations in the face of this environment.
“It is expected that during the rest of the year, interest rates may decrease and the dollar exchange rate will continue its downward trend, which would help to revive ongoing projects and stimulate new investments,” he added.
The business leader emphasized that another measure to address this decline is to implement financial mechanisms that facilitate access to credit and to promote public policies that encourage investment at the national and foreign levels.
In closing, and in a very optimistic way, the engineer specified that there are opportunities in the country to reactivate the sector and restore its role as an engine of the national economy.
