The idea is to turn it into a home port, so that all tourists can use it as a home port in the Caribbean.
SANTO DOMINGO - The executive director of the Dominican Port Authority (Apordom), Jean Luis Rodríguez, stated that the entity has a plan for the development of new infrastructure, such as the inauguration of 15 tourist and fishing docks and 2 new cruise terminals, an initiative that impacts the three regions of the country, South, North and East.
The head of Apordom added that work is underway for a ninth terminal, which is an expansion of the Santo Domingo cruise port, with the aim of bringing more cruise ships to the city center, and fundamentally, to that part of the Colonial Zone, to turn that dock into a home port, so that all tourists can use it as a home port in the Caribbean.
Rodríguez explained that in 2019, the country received 900,000 cruise ship passengers, and at its peak, 1.1 million, but last year, 2.3 million arrived, representing an increase of 110%.
“We can confidently state that the Dominican Port Authority is one of the public institutions that has undergone the most significant transformations. We are talking about an institution that, historically, was a source of shame for many people because it never yielded any benefits for the Dominican people, incurring financial and economic losses every year. This changed at the beginning of our administration, with profits of 80 million pesos in the first year, and so far, we have achieved figures close to 600 million pesos, a clear demonstration of transparency and efficiency in the management of public resources,” Rodríguez emphasized.
The official stated that three new terminals are under construction: the port of Barahona, built with its own funds, with an investment of 150 million pesos; and in the province of Samaná, the port of Arroyo Barril and Samaná Bay Port, located in the main municipality.
He also announced that the third cruise ship will arrive in Cabo Rojo on October 16, and its second phase will be inaugurated, which includes more bars, restaurants, pools and shops, among other things.
"I am very happy to be part of a team that President Luis Abinader entrusted with the development of new destinations like Pedernales, which has historically been an abandoned province, one of the poorest in the country, where no government dared to do what the president has done, since developing a destination is a great challenge.".
He stated that it is a success "that we receive cruise ships, and above all, that it impacts the economic dynamics. That's an average of $100 per passenger. This is real progress.".
Furthermore, he added that, “President Abinader is aware that a new commercial and multimodal port in Barahona is key to the development of the province, but he also had great vision with Pedernales and Manzanillo, where for more than 20 years governments came and went and the Manzanillo project was never started, and today it is a reality with the construction of the dock with a natural gas terminal, a power generation plant and hotels.”.
