SANTO DOMINGO - The former president of the Dominican College of Engineers, Architects and Surveyors (Codia), Teodoro Tejada , expressed a strong rejection of the position made known by structural engineer Frinet Muñoz Espinal , who stated in an interview that the increase in rates made by the Ministry of Housing, Habitat and Buildings (Mivhed) "was not enough".
The engineer stated that the expert's statement, who is a professor and whose company is certified to inspect construction projects, is motivated by "private interests .
“Engineer Frinet Muñoz’s statement is motivated by individual interest and ignores the serious collective problem represented by an abusive and non-consensual increase in the Mivhed,” Tejada stated in a voice note sent to El Inmobiliario.
The former president stated that this new provision, announced on May 15 , negatively impacts the construction sector, which is currently going through a period of "weakness".
“She’s thinking about the individual. She’s not considering that if a 100 million peso project increases by one million, that million is applied to the project as a whole. This raises the ITBIS (Value Added Tax), increases the interest rate, and the problem becomes collective,” Teodoro stated.
Given this scenario, the engineer explained that these increases would be reflected in real estate, potentially raising the price of an apartment by between 20,000 and 45,000 pesos.
He specified that this final increase would represent "a lot for the Dominican population" that is acquiring a property.
“It’s a very individualistic way for her to deal with things. She only thinks about her own benefit and forgets about collective problems, therefore, I categorically reject the engineer’s statement,” he stated.
