The Senate yesterday approved the Pedernales trust project, which aims to regulate and promote investments and infrastructure that show potential to initiate tourism development in that province, as well as preserve the nation's wealth and heritage in Pedernales.
Takenfrom the Listín Diario
SANTO DOMINGO.- The Airport Department is working permanently in the community of Los Tres Charcos, in the municipality of Oviedo, where the land is located on which the new Cabo Rojo international airport will be built.
The information was provided by its executive director, Víctor Pichardo, during a visit made together with the Minister of the Presidency, Lisandro Macarrulla, the general director of Public-Private Partnerships, Sigmund Freund, and provincial authorities.
Pichardo indicated that the technical studies required for the airport terminal are still underway. “An airport is not just a building; it requires a series of studies to determine the feasibility of constructing it in the designated location, where the most important thing is defining the runway alignment,” Pichardo stated.
When answering questions from journalists about whether this airport will be granted in concession under the current arrangement with the company Aeropuertos Dominicanos (Aerodom), Pichardo said that “although it has not yet been defined, the country does not have a good experience with the management of this airport concession, which only has three years of operation remaining.”.
He noted that, according to the terms of the concession, Aerodom was granted the administration of four state airports for 20 years.
The current concession ends in 2025, as the last extension was neither known nor approved by the legislative chambers.
Senate approves Pedernales trust agreement
The Senate of the Republic approved, in its second reading, the Trust Agreement for the Tourism Development of the province of Pedernales (Pro Pedernales) with 27 votes in favor out of 28 legislators in the session this Wednesday.
Minutes before its approval, Senator Yván Lorenzo of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) withdrew from the legislative assembly "to let them vote for Dionis's (Senator Dionis Sánchez) project; I don't want to oppose it.".
When the bill was read by Dionis Sánchez, a member of the Permanent Finance Commission and senator from Pedernales, Lorenzo asked to postpone the project until the next session to have the opportunity "to consult important technical experts" because he understood that the contract compromises the country's assets.
This contract was approved and sent by the Chamber of Deputies to the senators, so it will be sent to the Executive Branch for its execution.
The agreement was signed by the Dominican Government and Banreservas Trust Company on January 14, 2021.
This project aims to regulate and promote investments and infrastructure that show potential to initiate tourism development in that province, as well as to preserve the nation's wealth and heritage in Pedernales.
According to the Senator from Pedernales, the bill and its addendum were approved as submitted by the Executive Branch.
“Having completed the analysis of this initiative and taking into consideration that it will create the necessary mechanisms to regulate and promote investments and infrastructure that show potential to impact tourism development in Pedernales, the commission has resolved to issue a favorable report on file number 01278, which contains the Trust Agreement for the Tourism Development of the province of Pedernales (Pro Pedernales) and addendum number 1 signed on November 8, 2021, as they were sent from the Executive Branch,” read Dionis Sánchez.
One of them is clause five on the trust property, in the second paragraph, which establishes that if required and previously approved by the National Congress, the State will contribute to the trust the property of parcel 215-A of the Cadastral District No. 03 of Enriquillo, Barahona, the same one that contains the lands of Cabo Rojo, Bahía de las Águilas and other protected areas.
It was approved by the deputies, together with the Trust Contract of the Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Plant (CTPC), the latter of which was postponed at the request of President Luis Abinader, due to criticism of the privatization of the plant, if the contract was approved as signed.
