A visitor center will be built, which will accommodate tourists and investors, and the transfer of a new 300-hectare protected area is planned, due to its natural interest and proximity to the La Palma stream and Romeo wells aquifer systems.
SANTO DOMINGO – Islas del Cabo (Cape Islands) is the name of the new community to be built within the Cabo Rojo tourism project in Pedernales. This tourist village will include vacation homes, a shopping center, and accommodations for some of the estimated 6,750 direct and 27,000 indirect jobs that will be generated once the hotels and other businesses open.
“This town has been envisioned with the clear idea that, in addition to having adequate housing, it will have all the necessary services and support infrastructure, parks, recreational green areas, shops, among other necessary amenities, so that this Dominican working staff can live having all the facilities required for the integral development of their families,” states the Cabo Rojo Tourism Development Master Plan, Pedernales.
Also planned is the creation of a new access road to the complex in conjunction with a network of land and sea connection circuits with routes to the various tourist and ecological attractions of the surroundings, with 56 km of internal vehicular road and 6 km of accessibility from the highway in the new tourist entrance proposed as a second option.
“The project incorporates a scenic path with viewpoints, the restoration of the old Cabo Rojo airfield runway, converted into a promenade that will connect a botanical walk with the current pier, which will become an area of commercial tourist attraction where a marina and nautical club will be incorporated, with amenities and shops, as well as a reference lighthouse that seeks to create another attractive landmark of the area,” the project details.
The Master Plan explains that a visitor center will be built to welcome the new tourist destination and accommodate tourists and investors. “The project's site strategy utilizes distinctive elements to enhance existing natural spaces and connect the entire development at a pedestrian level. These elements may include connecting pathways, mixed-use tourist developments, public spaces, and mixed-use, commercial, and themed areas. All of these are designed around the interaction with and conservation of the existing natural environment.”.
To begin development, in the first stage 3km of beach are established, with a maritime protection front of 140m., 8,300,000 m2 have been allocated on the first line, divided into thirteen lots, four for eco-hotels and eight intended for hotel development, for a total of 4,500 hotel rooms.
The construction of the Pedernales International Airport will consist of two positions, on an estimated land area of 13,860,428 m², with the capacity to receive 2 flights per hour, taking into account the future demand of the area and the facilities for such provision.
The phases
The ambitious project, intended to be built over ten years, is divided into four phases, according to the development proposal contained in the Master Plan.
Phase I will include 830 hectares, at the western end of the intervention site, facing Cabo Rojo beach, approximately 2 km long; Phase II of 482 hectares, from the cape to the cave; Phase III of 772 hectares with a natural subdivision of the 1st Farallón (approximately 25m difference in height); and Phase IV approximately 553 hectares.
The document proposes the transfer of land for a new protected area of 300 hectares, due to its natural interest and proximity to the aquifer systems of La Palma stream and Romeo wells.
In addition to a 60-hectare service corridor, the secondary access road to Cabo Rojo. “The topography, and specifically the cliff system of Cabo Rojo, plays an important role in the placement and differentiation of these phases, as well as in defining the accessibility and circulation of the territory.”.
Regarding the organization of the territory, it maintains that the natural characteristics of soils, vegetation and existing heights influence the definition of a series of homogeneous and easily identifiable environmental units, which include not only aspects of the physical and biotic environment, but also according to the assigned land uses.
“The establishment of environmental units constitutes an instrument to advance in the definition of planning areas, which allows delimiting the different degrees of protection, and the typology of possible uses in each zone.”.
Identifying elements of the project
Marina & Lighthouse (Espiga Bay), Jaragua Promenade, Visitor Center and Public Beach Lookout, Villa del Cabo (Tourist Village), Pueblo Rojo (Local Tourist Village). Promenades: Seaside, Wetland, Botanical, Town, Seaside Rambla and Marina Promenade. Also, Pedernal Hot Springs, Tinglar Reserve, Oví Observatory and the parks of Torre, Risco, Farallón Gardens and Xerophytic Botanical Garden.
