The program's $90 million procurement plan anticipates contracting until March 2027, while the government announces the full delivery of the works in December 2026
SANTO DOMINGO. – The IDB's current loan procurement plan for the Colonial City, in its 2026-13 version published on September 4, 2026, covers until May 4, 2027, and includes 41 pending processes with estimated signatures between September 5, 2026 and March 15, 2027, for US$6.4 million.
Sixteen of them, for US$4.6 million, have an estimated date of December 21, 2026, the month in which the Government announced the complete delivery of the project.
However, the 2027 Budget proposal authorizes a new IDB loan for the Colonial City of up to US$130 million. The loan agreement, signed on April 30, 2019, establishes a disbursement period of six years from its effective date, renewable by written agreement. The documents consulted do not indicate the effective date or whether there was an extension.
Both President Luis Abinader and David Collado have expressed their expectation that the IDB project will be fully delivered in December, including its streets, sidewalks, curbs, and underground cables.
The statement from the Presidency on September 28, 2026, during the handover of the Alcázar de Colón, notes that President Abinader indicated that the interventions are progressing with the goal of completing the work in December, and that Collado reported that the program includes recovering more than 100 homes, with a target of 140, and painting more than 130 facades.
On October 2, the Ministry of Tourism inaugurated the first batch of the Housing Improvement Program, with 44 units (38 original and six added due to technical issues), a first batch of 60 facades and the entirety of the Paint Your City project, with 150 facades.
According to the statement published by the Presidency, these programs are part of the projects that conclude the Comprehensive Program for Tourism and Urban Development of the Colonial City (PIDTUCCSD), which includes more than 28 projects that have been delivered.
| As announced | What the documents record |
| The IDB project will be delivered in full in December. Minister David Collado, September 28, according to the Presidency. | Procurement plan of September 4: 16 processes for US$4.6 million with an estimated date of December 21, 2026 and 41 pending processes until March 15, 2027. IDB report: 3,649 of 4,608 meters of streets recovered by the end of 2025. |
| The program aims to renovate more than 100 homes, with a goal of 140. Collado, September 28, according to a statement from the President's office. The first batch of 44 homes was delivered on October 2, according to a statement from the Ministry of Tourism. | IDB Report: 25 homes intervened by the end of 2025. Plan: housing works of groups 3 and 4 (US$2.0 million) in process, with an estimated date of February 28, 2026, and housing works in a state of risk (US$1 million) with an estimated date of December 21, 2026. |
Sources: Press releases from the Presidency dated September 28 and October 2; IDB 2026-13 procurement plan and 2025 follow-up report.
What the IDB records
The bank's monitoring report for 2025, validated on April 30, 2026 and published on July 20, indicates that loan 3879/OC-DR, of US$90 million, had US$57,077,998.54 disbursed, or 63.42%, and US$32,922,001.46 outstanding.
In 2025, US$4,964,596.90 was disbursed and the cumulative executed cost of the program, which includes an associated operation, was US$47,519,492.35 out of US$93,827,762, or 50.6%.
By product, the report accounts for 3,649 of 4,608 meters of priority streets recovered, 25 of 140 homes renovated, 2 of 4 museums, and 3 of 6 community public spaces. The project completion date was moved from 2025 in the 2024 report to 2026 in the 2025 report.
The "Recovered Ozama Riverbank" project, which the Ministry of Finance included among the components when the loan was signed, has been listed as inactive since March 31, 2026, after having executed US$84,566 of an original target of US$1,830,000. The bank rates the environmental and social safeguards as partially satisfactory, due to two complaints attributed to the delay of the works.
The 2025 audit
The firm PKF Guzmán Tapia issued an unmodified opinion on the program's financial statements as of December 31, 2025, approved for issuance on April 24, 2026. In a separate opinion, based on selective testing, it concluded that the procurement processes examined complied with applicable standards and that the expenses presented are valid and eligible.
According to the reports, the program had received US$57,077,999 from the IDB and had recorded US$47,162,805 in disbursed cash, of which US$2,071,585 was pending justification to the bank. Cash available in the program's accounts at Banco de Reservas was US$10,033,486, compared to US$17,922,866 a year earlier.
23.8% of cancelled processes
The plan lists 323 process records: 90 in execution, 60 completed, 48 planned, 32 in progress, 6 under evaluation, 77 cancelled (23.8%), 5 deserted, 3 terminated and 2 with rejection of offers (323 records, 314 unique identifiers, because some processes have several contract lines).
Among the 77 cancelled projects are nine construction projects estimated at US$14,582,178, including the El Conde and Parque Colón projects (US$4.9 million), the final works of the San Francisco Convent (US$2.28 million) and the facade restoration and housing construction operators projects.
Another contract, for temporary protection of the San Francisco Convent for US$825,629, appears to have been terminated. The amounts in the plan are estimates, not disbursements.
Five construction projects, totaling US$8.8 million, remain open with their estimated completion dates already passed: the community spaces in the northern zone, Lot 2 (US$2.98 million, estimated completion date December 29, 2024), the works at the Museum of the Royal Houses (US$2.49 million, October 3, 2025), public lighting (US$0.4 million, February 22, 2026), housing for groups 3 and 4 (US$2.0 million, February 28, 2026), and the re-bidding process for facades (US$0.93 million, February 28, 2026). The priority streets contract, estimated at US$36,179,590, is listed as being in progress with an estimated completion date of September 26, 2022.
By December 21, 2026, the plan includes the museography for the Museum of the Royal Houses, at a cost of US$3 million; work on homes at risk, at a cost of US$1 million; and 14 new hires for the coordinating unit, including the general coordinator. The plan also anticipates contracting the final evaluation of the program by March 15, 2027.
Between the original and adjusted matrix in the IDB report, the total program cost remains unchanged: US$28.6 million increased for some products and US$26.3 million decreased for others. Increases were seen in priority streets (US$17.8 million), museums (US$5.1 million), contingencies (US$2.0 million), and housing (US$1.7 million). Decreases were seen in archaeological ruins (US$7.9 million), the Mercado Modelo (US$3.9 million), and program administration (US$2.0 million).
The new loan
Article 66 of the 2027 Budget Bill authorizes the contracting of the Revitalization Program of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo, with the Ministry of Tourism as the executor, for a maximum of US$130 million with the IDB and a minimum term of seven years.
The same project reduces the budget for the rehabilitation of the Colonial City from RD$875,699,815 in 2026 to RD$416,236,943 in 2027, a decrease of 52.5%. The text does not indicate whether the program is a new phase or when the contract would be awarded.
Sources: IDB, project fact sheet DR-L1084, 2025 monitoring report, procurement plan version 2026-13, audit report 3879/OC-DR as of December 31, 2025 (PKF Guzmán Tapia), and loan agreement. Draft General State Budget Law 2027, Article 66. DIGEPRES. Ministry of Finance. Office of the President, press releases of September 28 and October 2, 2026.
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