SANTO DOMINGO.- At the instruction of President Luis Abinader, investments in construction will increase in the first quarter of the year, a measure intended to put the Dominican economy on the path to growth.
Between January and March, the Government will launch an intense agenda of construction and inauguration of public works so that the country can achieve the same prosperity in 2023 as this year.
During the Council of Ministers meeting held last week, Abinader gave instructions to the heads of the institutions in charge of carrying out the works to execute the majority of the budget in public construction projects.
The 2023 General State Budget includes capital expenditure for constructions in progress, by contract and administration, for a consolidated total of RD$165,917 million.
Construction projects underway amount to RD$42,777 million; contracted projects total RD$33,812 million; and construction projects managed by the administration total RD$8,965 million. The Ministry of Housing, Habitat, and Buildings has allocated RD$5,522 million for the construction, reconstruction, and improvement of buildings.
The Indrhi has allocated approximately RD$2,580 MM for the construction and rehabilitation of dams.
José Ignacio Paliza, the administrative minister of the Presidency, explained that the Government's goal is to maintain the intensity of investments and that "the people can not only enjoy a greater level of well-being because of the works that would be delivered, but also to help maintain the pace of economic growth in the Dominican Republic.".
Descent in 2023
During 2022, the growth of the construction sector declined significantly, going from 23.4% last year to 1.6% in the first eleven months of this year.
Jorge Montalvo, president of ACOPROVI, the Association of Housing Builders and Developers, believes that with the right measures from the government and monetary authorities, the construction sector will be able to rebound in 2023 and regain the dynamism that characterized it last year, when it was the second fastest growing sector and a key component in the relaunch of the Dominican economy during 2021.
Montalvo highlighted the slowdown in construction compared to last year, with a growth of only 1.6% between January and November, going from occupying the privileged position of second place in 2021 to 16th among the productive sectors this year.
“The main causes of this slowdown are the high costs of construction materials and the sustained increase in interest rates, according to data published by the Central Bank last week,” he explains.
Regarding inflation, the president of Acoprovi would like to think that the worst is over, based on the fact that from the beginning of the pandemic to July of this year, the Direct Housing Cost Index (ICDV) kept by the National Statistics Office (ONE) had skyrocketed by more than 40%, only decreasing by a little over 2% with the reduction of some materials between August and September.
