SurunHernández denounced that the expansion of the San Isidro highway was assigned to Constructora Cogusa, SRL, without bidding in violation of Law 340-06 on Public Purchases and Contracts and that the construction of said work has more than 600 million pesos in overvaluation.
SANTO DOMINGO.-The Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) described as "irresponsible, reckless and pernicious" the complaint made by Miguel Surún Hernández and businessman Manuel García, who accuse the head of that department, Deligne Ascención Burgos, of committing irregularities in the contracting of the San Isidro Highway expansion and extension project.
The Primero Justicia Foundation and the merchant García filed a complaint with the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Prosecution of Administrative Corruption (Pepca) against the Minister of Public Works, Ascención Burgos, accused of committing serious irregularities in the contracting of the Coronel Tomás Fernández Domínguez Highway Expansion Project (San Isidro Highway).
Surun Hernández denounced that the expansion of said road was assigned to the construction company Cogusa, SRL, without bidding in violation of Law 340-06 on Public Purchases and Contracts and that the work has more than 600 million pesos in overvaluation.
In a document read yesterday at a press conference by Deputy Minister Roberto Herrera, the Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) stated that the declarations made by the mayoral candidate have an evidently political purpose, and distort with misleading statements and legal and technical falsehoods the project to improve the main avenues of Santo Domingo East, which is being carried out by that state agency.
The MOPC explains that the improvement project not only covers the Rafael Tomás Fernández Domínguez avenue, which leads to the San Isidro Air Base, but also the extension of the Ecological Avenue to the Port of Caucedo, and the extension of the Hípica Avenue to the Mella highway.
"By pointing out violations of Law 340-06, on Public Purchases and Contracts, and accusing the minister of having granted the contract that supports his constructions outside of current legislation, the declarants incur serious alterations of the truth, since the original dates from 2001, and was signed under the registration marked with the number 233-2001 and/or 233-2001 (bis)," the press document states.
They explain that based on this contract, the first stage of the Ecological Avenue and the Hippodrome Avenue were built during previous administrations through this contract, which is still in force.
"All the works currently being carried out, including the San Isidro Highway, are covered by the aforementioned original contract, agreed upon under Law 105 of 1967, and subsequently assigned on different dates to different construction companies, which, making use of Private Law, carried out contract assignments in several legal processes, regarding which the current administration only limited itself to giving the "No Objection", in its capacity as contracting entity, for the ratification or acceptance of the assignment agreement signed by the current contractors.".
It adds that in addition to these legitimate legal processes, carried out between private entities, the MOPC considered it prudent to modify and limit said contract through the formalization of an addendum, presented and approved by the Comptroller General of the Republic, in order to define and finalize the scope of the original, consolidating the aforementioned road projects as necessary and of interest to satisfy the current needs and future development of the municipality of Santo Domingo Este.
"In the specific case of San Isidro Avenue, Mr. Surún and Mr. García are acting outside the bounds of truth and making malicious statements, with the purpose of misinforming the public and judicial authorities with lies, in order to confuse them, given that the project has been expanded from two to eight lanes," the MOPC said in the press release.
It argues that the expansion is necessary to support the extensive real estate development in the area and to bring order to the prevailing chaos on that road, which retained the layout of its original construction from the 1950s.
"In addition, 21 pedestrian crossings will be enabled, using traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, whose final designs were duly presented to the neighborhood associations, transporters, merchants and municipal authorities of the sectors adjacent to the project, which was done in several meetings, as well as through publications in the national press.".
"Contrary to the evident animosity of the actions of Mr. Surún and Mr. García, the modifications made to the original design enrich its scope, because they include the reforms resulting from the dialogue held in several community assemblies, providing more safety to drivers and pedestrians, guaranteeing the flow of vehicles and the development of commercial activity on the periphery of the road.".
The Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) asserts that recklessly claiming overvaluation of the works currently being carried out in this project, without presenting expert evidence, estimates made by qualified auditors, or without basing these claims on technical studies endorsed by renowned specialists, serious entities, or experts in the field, is not only a punishable act, but also an act of bad faith and questionable ethical value, which affects the reputation of public officials of the Dominican Government and the prestigious construction companies linked to these works.
Present were Rafael Espinal, Chief of Staff; Elías Santana, Vice Minister of Road Infrastructure; and Domingo Santana, Legal Director.
