SABANETA, SANTIAGO RODRÍGUEZ.- "In 2016, during our first attempt to reach the presidency, some forward-thinking young people from this town of Sabaneta and I signed a book in which I committed to building this UASD center, and today I am here," declared President Luis Abinader yesterday, as he began construction of an extension of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) in this border region.
The project will cost RD$648 million. It had been demanded for four decades and will have capacity for more than a thousand students. It will include four laboratories, three buildings, 29 classrooms, an auditorium, a library, and will generate more than 500 direct jobs, explained Carlos Bonilla, the official who heads the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (MIVHED), which will be in charge of the construction.
Abinader said that his administration is committed to higher education so that the country's youth can be trained and contribute to the nation's development.
He added that by 2024, the centers being built by UASD will be allocated a budget for their improved operation.
"It's great that after 40 years of demanding the UASD, the president fulfilled his campaign promise to build this university center," said Félix Marte, mayor of Sabaneta.
"Many young people from Santiago Rodríguez, I used to see them late at night in Valverde Mao, stranded because of a lack of transportation, because they have to go to Mao to be able to study, but in a short time they will be studying right here in Sabaneta," said Antonio Marte, senator of the province.
Eritrudis Beltrán, rector of the UASD, highlighted, "once the building is finished, the educational offer will be incorporated to support the agricultural industry and ecotourism potential of the province.".
Neiba, Baní, Azua, Cotuí, Hato Mayor, are other locations where UASD centers are currently being built.
